WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is pushing back against questions about
whether President Barack Obama's health care law would mean new taxes for many
people.
A day after the Supreme Court upheld the law, White House press secretary Jay
Carney says the law will create a "penalty" that will affect about 1 percent of
those who refuse to get health insurance.
He says the penalty was modeled after the one put in place in Massachusetts
when Republican Mitt Romney was governor. Romney is now Obama's presidential
challenger.
The "tax" versus "penalty" label is important because the court said the
penalty essentially is a tax, and that's why the government has the power to
impose it.
Republicans have said the health care law will amount to a large tax increase
for many people.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
