Dr. Mehmet Oz may have skirted paying Medicare and Social Security taxes, Democrats say

Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, may have “significantly underpaid his Social Security and Medicare taxes” in recent years, according to a memo prepared by Democratic staff on the Senate Finance Committee and obtained by CNN.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, may have “significantly underpaid his Social Security and Medicare taxes” in recent years, according to a memo prepared by Democratic staff on the Senate Finance Committee and obtained by CNN. A spokesperson for Oz pushed back on the claim from Democrats, saying that the doctor is compliance with the law. Oz, who appeared before the committee Friday for his confirmation hearing, paid “negligible” Social Security or Medicare taxes in 2022 and no such taxes in 2023 – avoiding $440,000 in levies, according to the memo and Sen. Ron Wyden, the committee’s ranking member. The celebrity doctor would be responsible for overseeing Medicare if he is confirmed. CMS provides health care coverage to more than 160 million Americans through Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act health insurance exchanges. Oz took the position that he was not liable for certain taxes – including a self-employment tax, known as SECA – on income from his media entity Oz Property Holdings, the memo said. “What that means is the person who is nominated to run Medicare thinks that it’s acceptable not to pay his taxes into Social Security and Medicare, like nurses and firefights do out of every paycheck,” Wyden said at the hearing.