October 31, 2013 11:52AM 

# ‘There Is No Such Thing as an Individual Mandate. It’s a Tax.’ 

By [Michael F. Cannon](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-f-cannon) 

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That’s what Department of Justice attorney Joel McElvain said in open court last week. And thus the Obama administration reversed itself once again on whether the individual mandate is a tax.

Relatedly, a Clinton-appointed federal judge has dealt a second blow to the IRS and the credibility of its defenders. He called one of the administration’s arguments ‘silly,’ and promised expedited consideration of the Obamacare challenge, *Halbig v. Sebelius*. Read all about these in [my latest Darwin’s Fool post at Forbes​.com](http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelcannon/2013/10/30/an-update-on-halbig-and-other-lawsuits-that-could-make-the-decrepit-healthcare-gov-look-like-a-hiccup/).

##### Related Tags 

[General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Health Care](https://www.cato.org/health-care), [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) 

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