Medary.com

That's what President Obama says, so you can't get more official than that.

CNN as quoted at Cato@Liberty

"For us to say you have to take responsibility to get health insurance is absolutely not a tax increase," Obama said in response to persistent questioning, later adding: "Nobody considers that a tax increase."

So, that means that Senator Baucus, who wrote the Senate health care bill, is a nobody, too. The Foundry blog of the Heritage Institute explains ("MAGI" is "modified adjusted gross income," "FPL" is "family poverty line"):

The Merriam Webster Dictionary is not the only document that identifies the Baucus bill mandates as a tax middle class tax increase. There is also the Baucus bill itself, whose text on page 29 reads:

Excise Tax. The consequence for not maintaining insurance would be an excise tax. If a taxpayer’s MAGI is between 100-300 percent of FPL, the excise tax for failing to obtain coverage for an individual in a taxpayer unit (either as a taxpayer or an individual claimed as a dependent) is $750 per year. However, the minimum penalty for the taxpayer unit is $1,500. If a taxpayer’s MAGI is above 300 percent of FPL the penalty for failing to obtain coverage for an individual in a taxpayer unit (either as a taxpayer or as an individual claimed as a dependent) is $950 year. However, the maximum penalty amount a family above 300 percent of FPL would pay is $3,800.

And who would be enforcing what President Obama insists is not a tax? Heritage’s health care team explains:

In order to enforce these provisions, the Baucus bill would require individuals, health insurers, employers, and government health agencies to report detailed health insurance information on all Americans to the IRS, adding significant administrative costs and reducing privacy protections. The IRS would also be required to report personal income data to state exchanges, insurance companies, and employers, because premium credits and out-of-pocket limits would depend on income.

And the individual mandate is not the only middle class tax hike in the bill:

[B]eginning in 2013, the bill would impose a new federal excise tax on high cost health insurance plans. The tax would be applied to health plans valued at $8,000 for single policies and $21,000 for family policies. Because not all workers in such plans are high income, many will likely be on the receiving end of a middle class income tax increase, which contradicts President Obama’s promise that “if your family earns less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes increased a single dime. I repeat: not one single dime.”

I think the President is a liar. I must therefore--I'm told--be a RAAAAACIST!!!