The headlines on the President's new deficit plan are all about taxes on the wealthy and all kinds of budget savings. But the real news is buried in an 80 page document from the White House that lists dozens of changes that will impact a variety of industries.
Knowing that most of you won't read through the whole document from the Obama Administration, I thought I would list all the areas where savings are proposed by the President.
- Increase pension contributions by federal workers ($20.7 billion)
- Increase pharmacy co-pays for military health care ($15.1 billion)
- Start an annual premium fee for TRICARE signup ($6.7 billion)
- Increase fees charged by Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac ($27.5 billion)
- Increase airline ticket fees for airport security ($15 billion)
- New fee to pay for Air Traffic Control system ($10.9 billion)
- Various Postal Service reforms ($18.5 billion)
- New safeguards for worker retirement benefits ($16 billion)
- Reform the National Flood Insurance Program ($4.1 billion)
- National Wireless Initiative ($7 billion)
- Dispose of unneeded government property ($4.1 billion)
- Improve pension information collection ($3.1 billion)
- Strengthen IRS tax enforcement ($3.2 billion)
- Strengthen Treasury debt collection ($911 million)
- Reform Abandoned Mine Lands programs ($1.2 billion)
- Provisions on Unemployment Insurance system ($32.9 billion)
- Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee ($30 billion)
- New pesticide registration fees ($816 million)
- Charge for use of hazardous waste e-system ($31 million)
- Special assessment on nuclear power utilities ($2.1 billion)
- Repeal oil and gas R&D program ($150 million)
- Savings at Department of Interior ($1.6 billion)
- Raise diesel fuel tax for boats ($1.1 billion) Health Savings:
- Reduce Medicare coverage of patients' bad debts ($20 billion)
- Changes in Medical Education payments ($9.1 billion)
- End extra payments to rural providers ($2.1 billion)
- Reduce Critical Access Hospital payments ($1 billion)
- Change rules on Critical Access designation ($3 billion)
- Adjust payments for some post-acute care ($32.5 billion)
- Equalize certainly Medicare payments ($4.5 billion)
- Encourage better use of inpatient rehab ($2.6 billion)
- Adjust skilled nursing facility payments ($2 billion)
- Match Medicare & Medicaid drug payment policies ($135 billion)
- Recover wrongful Medicare payments ($2.3 billion)
- Reduce Medicare waste, fraud & abuse ($500 million)
- Penalties for failure to use e-health records ($500 million)
- Medicare payments dealing with advanced imaging ($400 million)
- Require prior okay for advanced imaging ($900 million)
- Medicare "Interactions" ($7 billion)
- Increase "income-related premiums" for Parts B & D ($20 billion)
- Modify Part B deductible for new enrolles ($1 billion)
- New Medicare 'home health copayments' ($400 million)
- Part B premium surcharge for some beneficiaries ($2.5 billion)
- Reduce the Medicaid provider tax threshold ($26.3 billion)
- Single blended matching rate to Medicaid & CHIP ($14.9 billion)
- Limit Medicaid reimbursement of durable medical equipment ($4.2 billion)
- Strengthen Medicaid third party liability ($1.3 billion)
- Alter Disproportionate Share Hospital allotments ($4.1 billion)
- Reduce waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid ($110 million)
- Change income determination for benefits ($14.6 billion)
- Ban 'pay for delay' Rx agreements ($2.7 billion)
- Reduce exclusivity for generic biologics ($3.5 billion)
- Streamline FEHBP pharmacy benefit contracting ($1.6 billion)
- Prevention and Public Health Fund investments ($3.5 billion)
- Accelerate State Innovation Waivers ($4 billion)
- Cut administrative costs ($400 million) Tax Reform Provisions:
- Allow Bush tax cuts to expire for wealthy and return estate tax to 2009 levels ($866 billion)
- Limit deductions for high income earners ($410 billion)
- Change tax treatment for hedge fund income ($12.5 billion)
- End special depreciation for corporate jets ($4.65 billion)
- Repeal oil and natural gas percentage depletion ($10.4 billion)
- Repeal oil and natural gas domestic deduction ($16.4 billion)
- Repeal expensing of intangible drilling costs ($12.8 billion)
- Repeal deduction for tertiary injectants ($83 million)
- Repeal oil and gas exception on passive loss ($187 million)
- Increase amortization for independent producers ($1.5 billion)
- Modify rules for dual capacity taxpayers ($9.9 billion) Close Business Loopholes:
- Repeal LIFO method of inventory accounting ($51.8 billion)
- Repeal LCM inventory accounting method ($8.2 billion)
- Repeal coal industry exploration expensing ($411 million)
- Repeal coal percentage depletion ($1.1 billion)
- Repeal capital gains treatment for royalties ($353 million)
- Repeal coal industry domestic deduction ($389 million)
- Modify rules on sales of life insurance ($929 million)
- Modify "Dividend-received-deduction" ($5.48 billion)
- Expand life insurance interest expense disallowance ($5.6 billion) Changes in U.S. International Tax System
- Defer deduction of interest on deferred income ($35.6 billion)
- Determine foreign tax credit on pooling basis ($52.8 billion)
- Tax changes dealing with offshore intangibiles ($19.1 billion)
- Limit income shifting through property transfers ($1.2 billion)
- Limit earnings stripping by expatriated entities ($3.9 billion) Other changes:
- Reinstates Superfund taxes ($18.7 billion)
- Makes 0.2% unemployment insurance surtax permanent ($14.6 billion)
- Increase certainly on worker classification ($7.7 billion) Total tax provisions - $1.57 trillion
The headlines on the President's new deficit plan are all about taxes on the wealthy and all kinds of budget savings. But the real news is buried in an 80 page document from the White House that lists dozens of changes that will impact a variety of industries. Knowing that ...
