by The Dude » Fri Nov 01, 2013 3:32 pm
Dylan is right, it's only a tax in terms of Congress' ability to pass such a law but it's not considered a tax in terms of what type of law it is.
That said, it's not a bill for raising revenue. It's a law about the health care market that includes revenue sources.
But don't forget, the bill was scored as being revenue neutral at the time, and therefore its intention was to raise no revenues. It is only shifting revenues around.