tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9612609.post334097835567010684..comments2023-09-29T06:58:20.125-07:00Comments on Badtux the Snarky Penguin: U.S. is "overtaxed"?BadTuxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01345749557330760251noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9612609.post-15040449007597176292010-05-13T06:52:46.163-07:002010-05-13T06:52:46.163-07:00Thanks for the clarification.
I agree that it'...Thanks for the clarification.<br /><br />I agree that it's pointless, in support of your main point (that we are not overtaxed), it's better to overestimate rather than fight about precise amounts.<br /><br />However, this goes back to a previous post of yours (see, I'm not just a drive-by reader, attracted by the music). Namely, since half the payroll taxes (er, "insurance premiums") are paid by the "guy behind the tree" (or at least "the man"), are they really taxes?<br /><br />Because I think it's inarguable that the taxes that other people pay don't count, in the eyes of the vast majority. BTW, I'm one of those lucky self-employed folks who pays 15.4 percent, minus the deduction of half that from my income (which, by the way, makes this tax still more regressive than a flat tax -- the lower your marginal rate, the less this deduction is worth).<br /><br />I'll take my answers off the air, and pay my taxes, if not cheerfully, then with a sense of duty fulfilled.C2H50Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05099404831776274929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9612609.post-47463645100701651602010-05-12T16:38:51.154-07:002010-05-12T16:38:51.154-07:00Yes, I am counting the amount that the employer pa...Yes, I am counting the amount that the employer pays as a tax, because, well, it *is* a tax. The fact that it's a hidden tax doesn't make it any less of a tax. And yes, I know that if this hidden tax were eliminated, employers would pay their workers not a whit more, but that's another issue.<br /><br />My general point wasn't to get bogged down in specific details of tax policy, but, rather, to point out that, err, the United States is *NOT* overtaxed, even if you *do* include the employer part of the employer tax the average American is taxed less than anybody else in the developed world. Only in third-world hellholes are people taxed less. That's where low taxes gets ya, yo.<br /><br />- Badtux the Taxing PenguinBadTuxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01345749557330760251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9612609.post-17062832445804693532010-05-12T16:34:24.235-07:002010-05-12T16:34:24.235-07:00badtux,
Excuse me, but the only way you can get 2...badtux,<br /><br />Excuse me, but the only way you can get 24 percent tax burden including payroll taxes is to add 15 percent to the 9.2 figure.<br /><br />But SS + Medicare taxes amount to about 7 percent for most workers -- unless you are counting the amount the companies pay as part of the individual's payment. If we accepted the theory that, if SS weren't there, the companies would all raise everyone's pay by the given amount, this would be valid -- but, based on 40 years of experience with American corporatism, I doubt it.<br /><br />Second, since payroll taxes are regressive, even this doesn't work.<br /><br />I suggest that the real figure is a lot closer to 18 than 24.C2H50Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05099404831776274929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9612609.post-71049269609168640382010-05-12T15:02:31.804-07:002010-05-12T15:02:31.804-07:00The reality is, our overall tax structure is damne...The reality is, our overall tax structure is damned close to level. The payroll tax - call it an insurance premium if you like, but that is playing word games - starts with the very first dollar, and cuts off some damned where. It's regressive as hell.<br /><br />As are sales taxes, BTW.<br /><br />Our tax structure is nowhere near progressive enough.<br /><br />Part of why WASF,<br />JzBJazzbumpahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07337490817307473659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9612609.post-53607147965318055602010-05-12T10:08:07.166-07:002010-05-12T10:08:07.166-07:00Do note that this is not including payroll taxes (...Do note that this is not including payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare) as "taxes". They're counted as "insurance premiums" instead because supposedly these are insurance premiums to allow you to receive retirement and health insurance benefits when you retire. You add those in, things go way up -- to around 24%, actually. Which *still* makes the USA the least-taxed major economy on the planet. Less-taxed than Japan. Less-taxed than South Korea. Less-taxed than any of the European nations. Only developing nations like India have lower taxes, the problem then being that you have to live in India with all the problems that come with lower taxes -- government officials paid via bribes rather than via salaries, lack of reasonable roads and highways, uncertain electrical power availability, a housing stock that is dangerous and unsafe due to lack of government standards and government inspectors, high crime because there are no effective police forces in many areas due to lack of tax money to pay them, etc. <br /><br />Hmm... sounds like what America is becoming, now that I think about it...<br /><br />- Badtux the Undertaxed PenguinBadTuxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01345749557330760251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9612609.post-37137886957569932852010-05-12T09:45:58.743-07:002010-05-12T09:45:58.743-07:00I would like to see how this 9.2% average tax rate...I would like to see how this 9.2% average tax rate breaks down by income level.Jerry Critterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01870618647449723147noreply@blogger.com