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No, the truth is they aren't counted because correctly counting them would undermine the bullshit conclusion they're pushing.
by Steko 9y ago
No, the truth is they aren't counted because correctly counting them would undermine the bullshit conclusion they're pushing.
- ovao 9y agoTo count Social Security and Medicare withholding as part of federal income taxes would be incorrect, as neither are income taxes (they are payroll taxes.) I think to correctly frame what proportion any income group (or wealth group) pays, you have to look not just as federal income taxes, but at all taxes.
- Steko 9y agoI think you are arguing past me on the first part. They are "payroll taxes", yes. And there is a "US federal income tax" of which they are not, yes. Technically they do also fit the definition of what an income tax is (wikt:"A tax levied on earned and unearned income"; wikipedia "Retirement oriented taxes, such as Social Security or national insurance, also are a type of income tax, though not generally referred to as such"). More to the point, and I think we agree here, the deception is by framing the discussion only about the "us federal income tax" when that is only 60% of the total federal income/payroll taxes collected. If you tell people that the top 1% makes 22% of the money and pays 40% of federal income taxes it makes them sound oppressed. If you tell people that the top 1% makes 22% of the money, has 35% of wealth and pays 25% of federal income and payroll taxes, the oppression disappears.