Quote:
Originally Posted by Silver Streak
The "parasites" several people have referred to DO pay taxes, usually quite a lot of taxes. Just not Federal Income Tax. They pay payroll taxes, if employed. (That FICA thing that comes out of paychecks--and it's substantial--is on top of regular income tax. It funds Social Security and Medicare.) They pay sales tax every time they buy something (which benefits the state they live in). If they own property (even a car), they pay property taxes. They pay gas taxes. Those in lower income brackets actually pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than the wealthy do. It's just not Federal Income Tax. There's a reason those in higher tax brackets have money to sock away in savings and investments (with lower tax rates). Those in lower tax brackets often have nothing left over to sock away, even if they're working two full-time (but low-paying) jobs. Are the people mowing your lawn or serving your food or checking you out at the grocery store "parasites"? I don't think so.
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FICA taxes is not a good example. Lower income earners pay FICA taxes, but when they receive the Social Security and Medicare benefits, it is the high income earners who actually fund the benefits because the low income earners receive a much higher benefit relative to what they pay in taxes. The Social Security income payout schedule greatly favors low income workers in terms of how much they receive in proportion to what they paid in. And, Medicare premiums are based on income, so high income individuals pay much higher premiums for the exact same benefit. They also pay in more during their working years.
The bottom line is that, if you eliminated FICA taxes for everyone, the wealthy would become wealthier, and the poor would become poorer.