On April 17, Acting IRS Commissioner David Kautter said the agency would continue to enforce the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer mandate. At a House Oversight Subcommittee hearing, Kautter explained that it is still the law, and the agency is therefore required to implement it. The IRS has sent nearly 10,000 enforcement letters since last fall, though a majority of these cases have been resolved without companies paying anything, after negotiations with the agency.
Several Republicans have argued that President Trump’s executive order directing federal agencies to take all actions consistent with the law to minimize the economic and regulatory burdens of the ACA includes ceasing to enforce the mandate.
Democrats and the IRS maintain that, absent repeal, there is a constitutional obligation to enforce the mandate.