I wonder how Romney will explain this one. Eric Fehrnstrom Romney's strategist said the mandate is NOT a tax but a penalty. Chuck Todd asked him what did they call it in Massachusetts. He says PENALTY. Oops there it is!

From the article.

Romney has been conspicuously quiet on the issue for the obvious reason that as governor of Massachusetts, he imposed a health insurance mandate of his own. For that reason, his campaign has avoided addressing explicitly whether a mandate is the same thing as a tax.
That changed when Fehrnstrom stepped directly onto a political land mine on MSNBC.
Asked by anchor Chuck Todd whether Romney “agrees with the president” that “you should not call the tax penalty a tax, you should call it a penalty or a fee or a fine,” Fehrnstrom answered: “That’s correct.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/02/fehrnstrom-bucks-republican-line-on-obamacare-as-tax/?hpt=hp_bn3

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/78077.html

Video

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/07/video-of-the-day-top-romney-aide-says-mandate-is-not-a-tax/259309/