You're not paying attention.
It's a tax because the government may use the force of arms to punish you if you don't pay it.
Whether you think it's constitutional, or whether I think it's constitutional, that doesn't matter at all. Not even a hill of beans. What matters is that it was passed by Congress (whether rightly or wrongly), it was signed into law by the usurper Kenyan anti-Christ, and its alleged constitutionality was upheld by the Black-Robed Tyrants.
If the orders are given by the government to take adverse action against an employer who fails to follow the law, those orders will be followed by the requisite government minions, and those in the private sector that work with the government. My bank will permit the government to seize money from my accounts, the state will happily put liens on property that I own, and eventually, when the laws are tightened up a bit, I will be subject to arrest.
But even without the formal compulsion of a “tax,” the bottom line is that the way our system is currently set up, there are many, many folks who would be unable to get or afford health insurance if it wasn't “provided” to them through their employer.
As a CATHOLIC employer, I have ALWAYS believed that I had a COMPELLING MORAL OBLIGATION to provide health insurance to my workers, if I could afford it. It's part of that whole “living wage” thing that Pope Leo mentioned.
Ironically, Obamacare may force me to drop health insurance for my employees, as our high-deductible policies will probably be ruled illegal, and I won't be able to afford lower deductible replacement policies. It'll be way, way, way cheaper to pay the fine (like, about 20% of the cost of actual health insurance policies).
I guess then I'll be off the hook for the whole moral question! (Bitter) LOL!
sitetest
Since this option actually saves the employer money (basically bribing you to dump your employees' coverage and force them onto the national socialist healthcare entrance ramp --- some social justice, eh?) could you increase their compensation in other ways?
I understand the bitter LOL. I think if I were an employer, I'd either have crossed the DSM (psych) line, or the line of criminal indictment.