# How is Obamacare the "largest tax increase in US history"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-obamacare-the-largest-tax-increase-in-us-history/626746>\
**Category:** Politics & Elections\
**Created:** [June 29, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-obamacare-the-largest-tax-increase-in-us-history/626746 "2012-06-29T22:46:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-obamacare-the-largest-tax-increase-in-us-history/626746/21 "2012-07-10T16:42:02Z")

</div>

> [@lance\_strongarm](#):
>
> Yep. They said that about Clinton’s tax increase.
> 
> The actual largest tax increase in history, though, came under…Ronald Reagan.

This seems unlikely, I would think that the largest tax increases would be related to WWII - just because it was such a huge endeavor. Politifact seems to confirm that suspicion:

> [@](#):
>
> As a percent of GDP, here are the top five tax increases from 1940-2006, according to Tempalski:
> 
> ```
> 1. Revenue Act of 1942: 5.04 percent of GDP;
> 
> 2. Revenue Act of 1961: 2.2 percent of GDP;
> 
> 3. Current Tax Payment Act of 1943: 1.13 percent of GDP;
> 
> 4. Revenue and Expenditure Control Act of 1968: 1.09 percent of GDP;
> 
> 5. Excess Profits Tax of 1950: .97 percent of GDP;
> 
> ```

> **[Limbaugh, GOP have it wrong: Health care law is not the largest tax increase...](https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2012/jun/28/rush-limbaugh/health-care-law-not-largest-tax-increase-us-histor/)**
>
> A silver lining for conservatives in the Supreme Court’s health care decision Thursday is that the court allowed the law

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-obamacare-the-largest-tax-increase-in-us-history/626746/22 "2012-07-10T16:44:24Z")

</div>

> [@Darth\_Panda](#):
>
> This seems unlikely, I would think that the largest tax increases would be related to WWII - just because it was such a huge endeavor. Politifact seems to confirm that suspicion:

Using that method, I guess so.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-obamacare-the-largest-tax-increase-in-us-history/626746/23 "2012-07-10T16:53:40Z")

</div>

What method did you mean? Comparing aggregate Reagan-era increases against those of the other administrations?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-obamacare-the-largest-tax-increase-in-us-history/626746/24 "2012-07-10T17:03:50Z")

</div>

> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#):
>
> What method did you mean?

Tempalski’s.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-obamacare-the-largest-tax-increase-in-us-history/626746/25 "2012-07-10T17:59:48Z")

</div>

I just read that Forbe’s article and while I understand the logic of what they are saying, I think that saying it is a large tax increase is of course a lie in the sense that it will not be an increase of anything for most people. And it isn’t like folks who purchase insurance aren’t getting anything, they are getting insurance.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-obamacare-the-largest-tax-increase-in-us-history/626746.md?page=1)