WASHINGTON (AP) — Health care legislation headed for the Senate floor includes higher payroll taxes for upper income wage earners.
According to an outline of the bill, the tax is designed to extend health care coverage to the uninsured as well as lengthen the life of the trust fund that finances Medicare.
Current law sets the Medicare payroll tax at 1.45 percent of income. Under the legislation, it would rise by half a percentage point on individual income over $200,000 a year and $250,000 for couples.
The outline did not say whether employers would also face higher taxes under the bill.
