Half Your Paycheck To The Government In 2013

fox ^ | 11-21-12 | gerri willis

[TurboZamboni]

Come January 1, you're probably not going to be happy with the amount of taxes you're paying. That's because it's not just Federal taxes that you pay.

A middle class taxpayer pays 25% percent of their income in Federal Income Tax. Sounds, ok?

Then there is the Federal Social Security and Medicare payroll tax of 13.3%. You pick up 5.65% while you're employer pays 7.65%. Add them up and that's 38.3% of middle class family incomes going to Uncle Sam. But we aren't done, not by a long shot.

According to the Tax Foundation, the average state's income tax rate on the middle class is 4.82%. Of course, some states have it and some don't, but we're taking an average here.

Now the total: 43.12% of middle class income to taxes.

Oh, and I almost forgot, unless congress makes a move, Federal Income taxes go to 28% for middle income folks next year as the Bush tax cuts expire.

[muawiyah]

This is actually a bifurcated discussion of two topics. One is taxation ~ pure and simple ~ no one escapes taxation somewhere. The original design in our Constitution was that the federal government could be funded only by indirect taxes ~ thereby removing much of the contact between the federales and the population on an individual basis.

I think we know all the issues there ~ to wit, income tax bad, high taxes bad, indirect taxes good ~ or at least just the sort of thing needed to trim the federal government's spending sails.

The other issue is my special idea of TAXING ONLY DEMOCRATS. That way the Democrats are happy because their taxes would certainly be increased, but the Republicans would be happy because their taxes would certainly be decreased.

Do not try to mix those two ideas.

In the case at hand the states that will end up paying the most taxes in the Fiscal Cliff are those who are overrun with Democrats ~ hence, just letting things happen as they are going to happen will end up taxing Democrats, and there's nothing wrong with taxing them!

Now, let's get on with the other part of the idea ~ exempting Republicans from taxation!

BTW, the idea that forcing the poor to pay federal income taxes is good is just this side of totally bizarre. The whole program of federal income taxes was sold as being applicable to only the biggest businesses and the top 1 or 2 percent of income earners!

Reagan put us on the path of returning to that standard ~ besides, as we all recall that was a Republican campaign promise ~ in 1909!