> It’s not just millionaires who’d pay more under President Barack Obama’s latest plan to combat the deficit.
New government fees pepper Obama deficit plan
More than $130B in new government fees pepper Obama deficit plan
Andrew Taylor, Associated Press, On Monday September 19, 2011, 3:37 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s not just millionaires who’d pay more under President Barack Obama’s latest plan to combat the deficit.
Air travelers, federal workers, military retirees, wealthier Medicare beneficiaries and people taking out new mortgages are among those who would pay more than $130 billion in new government revenues raised through new or increased fees. These fees are advertised as “savings” in administration budget documents.
Airline passengers, for instance, would see their federal security fees double from $5 to $10 for a nonstop round-trip and triple to $15 by 2017, raising $25 billion over the coming decade. Federal employees would contribute $21 billion more to their pensions over the same period. Military retirees would pay a $200 fee upon turning 65 to have the government pay their out-of-pocket Medicare expenses. They’d also pay more for non-generic prescription drugs.
And it’ll cost corporate jet owners a new $100 fee for each flight.
The fees aren’t taxes. They’re charged to people who use government services or receive benefits like taxpayer-subsidized health care, and the fees typically defray the government’s cost of providing a service. The fee on corporate jets and other private passenger planes, for example, would raise about $1 billion a year to help finance the cost of air traffic control. Recreational flyers won’t have to pay.
Many of Obama’s proposals are retreads from earlier budget proposals, including those submitted by his predecessors. They’re rejected year after year. Some ideas, like requiring wealthier veterans to pay more for their health care, whip up opposition from powerful interest groups. Others, like the bigger security fee for flyers, seems too close to a ticket tax increase.
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