Congress Should Forbid the FDA from Taxing Mobile Phones, Tablets & Apps

ObamaCare is full of strange consequences, not suprising since the bill needed to be passed before it could be read. Another peculiar consequence from ObamaCare: The Food and Drug Administration seems to think they have authority to tax app developers and smartphone and tablet manufactures.

Medical technology is constantly evolving, but Obamacare threatens to stifle innovation by taxing medical devices. In her most recent OpEd in The Hill, @Digital Liberty Executive Director Katie McAuliffe breaks down the implications of the FDA’s potential to tax smartphones, tablets and apps.

House Energy & Commerce leaders sent a letter on Monday, March 4th to the Food & Drug Administration asking how the ObamaCare medical device tax would be applied to smartphones, tablets, and apps.

Obamacare imposes a 2.3 percent tax on the gross sales of American medical device manufacturers, even if the manufacturer doesn’t make a profit in a given year.

By the IRS deferring authority in this matter to the FDA, the FDA inadvertently becomes a tax-collecting arm of the government rather than an agency focused on science and consumer welfare.

Read the full OpEd here.