KGOldWolf

2017 wages’ earning cap is $127,200 at 7.65%. For years it’s been discussed the cap should be removed so the high earners continually pay this tax like lower wage earners do. Yet there’s been no mention about removing this regressive tax on the middle and lower class.

Meanwhile the new tax structure will now tax students seeking advanced degrees earning less that $30k will now be taxed on the value of their earnings plus the value of their tuition scholarship. The effect of this is to cause most of our best and brightest to drop out of STEM research PhD programs. This means our ability to keep up with scientific / societal advances of other countries will rapidly drop.

This very shortsighted and is a vivid example of protecting the rich and at the expense of the middle class.

It will be the likes of the Donald Jr. and Eric Trump protecting our research parity going forward because only the rich could afford the cost while our best and brightest are lost to our country’s future advances.

Thank you Paul Ryan for hurting our society’s future.

Frosty Loc: Minnesota

It's interesting that when they talk about income tax rates of 10, 12, or 15 %, or whatever, that they fail to include the 7.65% fica tax for SS and medicare. When combined with the income tax, the lower income people pay a much higher percent of their income than it would first appear.

However, When they talk about the budget they combine the cost of these two programs as expenditures.

Frank T Loc: New York, NY

If we eliminated the cap on FICA, Social Security could be funded forever.
But that would tax the rich and that's just not acceptable. Better, the elderly should have to choose between taking medication and eating.
You can judge a society by the way they treat their least fortunate and what I see here in this country, is not good.

KGOldWolf

Historically, employers pay a matching amount of this labor expense. Given that corporate tax on total profit is dropping from 35% to 20%, it would be easily assumed. If labor expense is third of overall operating expense it would be no more than a net 2.5% increase on their taxation meaning their upcoming reduction would be 12.5% decrease instead of a 15% decrease.

Seems to me that would be a way of protecting our future STEM research By PhD candidates. (STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). Those are critical areas to maintain parity in an ever increasingly competitive, adversarial world.

Pretty stupid tax plan priorities....

Frosty Loc: Minnesota

Actually nothing would change. The split in paying SS and Medicare is just slight of hand. If the employer paid you their share of the FICA tax and you paid all of it, it would be no different than if the employer kept the half paid to you and paid all of the tax. It's a wash. All of the FICA tax comes out of what you earn. It is part of your overall pay package.......or the cost of employing you.

KGOldWolf

Actually I think you misunderstood or I misspoke! It’s true the employer and employee pay the same tax amount but the taxation for both stops when the employees wages exceed $128k. My point is lifting the cap on the earning limit would increase tax revenues as both the employer and employer would continue to pay their 7.65% share of the FICA tax. This would be a net increase in tax revenue.

ps: I agree that FICA is a composite tax

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

So should we increase their benefits which are also capped?

Or are you just preaching class warfare?

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

As in any bill, compromises must be made. Maybe this is one of them. IMHO people earning large incomes (over 1/2 million) ought not to collect any social security payments

thom w Loc: San Jose, CA

I've exceeded the cap on several occasions (don't know if I will this year or not) and I wouldn't have considered it a hardship if there were no cap. (I've never exceeded it by a great amount).

SteveS Loc: The US is my home.

Since SSI benefits are based on an individuals life time earnings, by putting a wage base limit on FICA, it also reduces the dollar amount paid out at the time the individual starts receiving benefits. Remove the FICA cap and it increases the SSI payouts for those top wage earners. So be careful what you ask for. Just imagine what Warren Buffets SSI payouts would be without that wage base cap people complain about.

SteveS Loc: The US is my home.

How about you go buy a Certificate of Deposit. When it comes due, rather then you cashing it, you just give it to me?

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

Thanks for not answering my question.

Ive exceeded it for at least the last 20 years ... and?

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

Based upon what?

You are aware that if you have a household income of $40K/yr you are a 1%er?

thom w Loc: San Jose, CA

And, obviously you have no humanity.

thom w Loc: San Jose, CA

Wrong!!! Not even close.


How Much Income Puts You in the Top 1%, 5%, 10%?

By Rebecca Lake | September 15, 2016 — 3:58 PM EDT

incomes have been making news this week. But when you read all those stories about the 5% or the storied 1% – or even the top 10% – how much money do you need to pull in to be in one of those groups? Here's the answer.

​The discussion started when the U.S. Census Bureau released data which showed that median household incomes increased 5.2% between 2014 and 2015. The announcement made headlines because it was the first significant jump in earnings reported since the 2007 pre-Recession era (see Incomes Jump, Says Census. Who's Doing Best?) .

According to the Bureau’s 2015 Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States report, incomes grew across the board in 2015. Those at the lower end of the income scale saw their pay increases, as did those pulling in six-figure paydays.

Among the top 5% of earners, median household incomes climbed by 0.9%. While that boost seems small compared to the 1.9% increase reported among the bottom fifth of all earners, it means that it takes an even bigger paycheck to make it into the relatively small club of Americans who draw the largest salaries.

How Much Do You Need?

The top 5% of households earn an annual income of $214,462 or higher, according to the Census Bureau. That’s nearly four times the 2015 nationwide median household income of $56,516. The average income among those in the top 5% climbed to $350,870. Overall, this group lays claim to a 22.1% share of total household income in the U.S. Source:

To be certified as a one-percenter, you’ll need to bring in even more income each year. According to statistical data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the top 1% had an adjusted gross income of $465,626 or higher for the 2014 tax year. The Washington Center for Equitable Growth put the average household income for this group at $1,260,508 for 2014.

If you want to cross the top 10% mark, you’ll still need a six-figure income but the numbers aren’t quite as high. The IRS sets the adjusted gross income cutoff required to be in the 10% group at $133,445, based on 2014 tax data. Once again, the average household income for the top 10% of earners is higher, at $295,845.


Read more: How Much Income Puts You in the Top 1%, 5%, 10%? | Investopedia https://www.investopedia.com/news/how-much-income-puts-you-top-1-5-10/#ixzz57bdsemol
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There were plenty more sites which said about the same thing. I couldn't post them all, especially when I don't even know if you read.

Why are you continually posting non-truths?