And so it begins, Obama imposes first new taxes

The soaking of the rich has begun with the IRS releasing new rules for income taxes affecting the highest earners. Those taxes apply to capital gains and dividends earned by individuals making more than $200,000 per year and married couples earning above $250,000.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Healthcare isn't free, and the best way to pay for it, according to the Obama administration, is to tax the rich. Individuals with more than $200,000 in modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) and married couples filing jointly with more than $250,000 in MAGI will pay the new taxes.

In a broad, 159-page edict, the rules explain when and how the taxes apply. Other rules released on Friday include a 0.9 percent healthcare tax on the wages of high-income individuals.

The rules take effect on January 1, although the IRS is holding a period of public comment in April. The new taxes will be due in 2014.

According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, and analysis predicts the taxes will raise an estimated $317.7 billion over the next 10 years.

The IRS illustrates in their release just how the tax would apply for an individual. The first $200,000 in income would not be affected by the new taxes, however the money earned above that would be. Specifically, the example depicted an individual with $180,000 in income with an additional $90,000 in investment income. Of that the $70,000 of the investment income would be subject to the new taxes.

The additional taxes consumed by the government will be allocated to government programs including Obamacare. In this way, everyone who pays taxes buys into Obamacare, like it or not, no matter if they have insurance or not.

Unfortunately, the rules are not entirely clear and have left some questions for later. For example, how will rental income be treated?

In any case, the wealthy will pay more, no matter what.

The worse news? This is just the start. A bevy of additional taxes will also hit the wealthy on January 1, as the Bush tax cuts expire - a move that is widely expected to happen.

It's time to start paying.

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