A half truth.
And as we both know "the old-age, survivors and disability insurance rate" and "the hospital insurance rate" is that sales tax rate that "shall be determined by the Social Security Administration. "
`(1) FOR 2003- In the calendar year 2003, the rate of tax is 23 percent of the gross payments for the taxable property or service.
`(2) FOR YEARS AFTER 2003- For years after the calendar year 2003, the rate of tax is the combined Federal tax rate percentage (as defined in paragraph (3) of the gross payments for the taxable property or service.
`(3) COMBINED FEDERAL TAX RATE PERCENTAGE- The combined Federal tax rate percentage is the sum of--
`(A) the general revenue rate (as defined in paragraph (4), and
`(B) the old-age, survivors and disability insurance rate, and
`(C) the hospital insurance rate.
`(4) GENERAL REVENUE RATE- The general revenue rate shall be 14.91 percent.
shall be that sales tax rate which is necessary to raise the same amount of revenue that would have been raised by imposing a 12.4 percent tax on the Social Security wage base
shall be that sales tax rate which is necessary to raise the same amount of revenue that would have been raised by imposing a 2.9 percent tax on the Medicare wage base
The NRST funds general revenues at 14.91%
And funds SS/Medicare at the same level of revenue that is generated by the SS/Medicare taxes it replaces.
Get rid of SS/Mediscare and the NRST rate will be 14.91%
Course if you don't like funding SS/Mediscare that way, you can go the Tauzin route and keep funding it at a rate of 15.3% of your wages instead of 8.09% of your spending. And pay 15% on spending for general revenues.
The alternative is to privatize SS/Mediscare right now if you think you can get it done.
Remember:
23%........... HR2525 (NRST) rate
14.91% ..... rate if Social Security and Medicare were privatized
14% .......... rate if Nat'l Endowment for the Arts were eliminated
11.9%........ rate if Dept. of Education were eliminated
10% .......... rate if welfare were eliminated
etc.
Your objection is noted and easily taken care of.
All you have to do is just repeal Social Security and Medicare.
And that pesky section goes bye-bye for you.
Bureaucrats at Social Security determining the sales tax rate(s) without a vote or oversight from Congress
The SS & Medicare rates are already fixed in law by Congres and as shown tied to the NRST rate by that same percentage.
Secondly, you appear to have missed a key factor for both SS & Medicare percentage:
The rate shall be determined using actuarially sound methodology and announced at least 6 months prior to the beginning of the calendar year for which it applies.
Lets see, NRST rate projected to increase, all them welfare mothers looking at paying more for their diapers scream at Congress Critters along with all the rest of us. Just the opposite of what happens today.
NRST rate projected to decrease and everyone is happy.
The wage base increases slower than the economy as a whole due to productivity increases. which are the rule rather than the exception for this nation. As a concequence those computed rates for the NRST will trend lower rather than higher .
Course there are those who want higher rates or no change in them lewislynn.
House Democratic Caucus hopes to be able raise total federal taxes
I would hope you are not among them.