[Excaliber]

Well that pretty well confirms it's a "tax" all right. Just like if you don't pay your other taxes, you can be fined and go to jail, same thing. I guess the next step would be to put a lien on your personal property, or whatever rules apply to not paying taxes.

Of course, if you don't make any money then you don't owe any taxes. Bear in mind that is one possible scenario of a PROPOSED health bill, still being disussed, analyzed and tweaked to gain acceptance.

It would be nice to know WHICH bill this particular issue is in, as there seems to be at least a few versions floating around.