Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle cast doubt on the IRS’ ability to administer Obamacare, saying Wednesday that the agency will have a tough time trying to shepherd confused taxpayers through the tortuous process.
Republicans said the shaky rollout of the health exchanges last year combined with the Internal Revenue Service’s dented reputation in the wake of the tea party targeting scandal have created a trust gap. For their part Democrats doubted Americans understand their obligations.
“I suspect that most folks, after they sign up for health care, aren’t going back to review the website — they’ve figured that they’ve done that, and they’re getting on with the other things in their life,” said Rep. Mike Thompson, California Democrat.
Americans will confront the issue early next year, when for the first time they will have to certify whether they hold insurance when they file their returns.
Many will simply check a box, but those who received tax credits to help them pay premiums to purchase insurance on the health exchanges will have to reconcile their subsidy payments, which were based on expected income, with what they actually earned.
“We’ve been trying to continually remind people to make that adjustment,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told the House Ways and Means Committee’s panel on health.
SEE ALSO: IRS can’t escape Lerner, tea party scandal at Obamacare hearing
The IRS is also charged with enforcing the law’s individual mandate — the provision that requires Americans to hold health insurance unless they have a specific exemption.
Mr. Koskinen said his agency will handle the workload even though Congress hasn’t given the IRS additional money.
House Republicans, though, questioned whether the IRS will be fair in its scrutiny, particularly in light of revelations that top officials in the tea party targeting scandal appeared to have a bias against Republicans.
“What are the things that are happening proactively to prevent the next Lois Lerner — Lois Lerner 2.0 — from looking out over a landscape with a high level of discretion to be able to say, ’You know what? We’re going to make inquires here, and we’re going to make inquires there, and we’re not to make inquires over here,’ and you see where I’m going,” demanded Rep. Peter Roskam, Illinois Republican.
Ms. Lerner, the former director of the IRS’s Office of Exempt Organizations, became the face of the scandal last year when she admitted her division used inappropriate criteria to scrutinize political groups seeking tax-exempt status.
Since then the IRS has said it lost a set of Ms. Lerner’s emails that could be relevant to the investigation. To Mr. Roskam, that raised questions about the tech folks who will administer Obamacare’s provisions next year.
SEE ALSO: Technology problems at IRS go far beyond loss of Lois Lerner’s email
“Are these the same IT people that can’t find Lois Lerner’s emails and can’t deal with hard drives?” the congressman asked.
Mr. Koskinen said the IRS’s auditing system prevents any one employee from singling out a specific taxpayer.
But the commissioner may have undermined lawmakers’ confidence in the agency when, responding to questions about how subsidy overpayments would be collected, he remarked: “Wherever we can, we follow the law.”
“I encourage you to follow the law in all instances,” said panel Chairman Kevin Brady, Texas Republican.
The commissioner said if Congress wanted to, it could help his agency carry out its new duties by ponying up an extra $430 million during the budget process, including $300 million needed to build systems that would let the IRS administer its share of Obamacare.
Rep. William J. Pascrell Jr., New Jersey Democrat, said House Republicans are holding back funding as part of an uphill effort to dismantle Obamacare.
“If you can’t shoot the dog, starve it,” he said. “That’s what this is all about.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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