When Is a Tax Not a Tax?

The crux of the original argument was that a penalty for NOT buying insurance was un-Constitutional.  In the Supreme Court's decision to allow Obamacare, the argument was:  "Having the penalty qualify as a tax would make it immune to legal challenge since Congress has an undisputed right to tax."

When Obama began campaigning for his plan, he was insistent that any fees charged were not "a tax."

Gonna take me the rest of the day to get this sorted in my head.