TAXES

There is a great hue and cry that "we need a fairer tax system . the semi progressive IRS tax should be replaced by a fairer sales tax or flat tax." And yet, when considering generally accepted exemptions from income before calculating the IRS tax, no wealthy families faces a greater tax burden, as a percentage of income, than the burden faced by the lowest paid, who pay a flat tax of 12.4 percent on the total of their meager earnings to the Social Security Tax. The very well paid also pay 12.4 percent of their earnings; but, this tax is levied only on the first $84,900 of earnings. The 2.9 percent Medicare tax is levied on all earnings of both groups, except there is no tax on "fringe benefits" which the wealthy pay themselves. A large group, including our elected officials, have excluded themselves from helping support the elderly who rely on Social Security and who were never paid enough to save for their own retirement, especially after paying the 15.3 % Social Services taxes to provide their elders with minimal retirement and health care. All governmental employees are exempted from the SS tax if they contribute to a government sponsored pension fund that will provide them with a far better retirement than Social Security. Between the public employees and the wealthy income exclusions, more than 20 percent of earnings are excluded from SS taxes. All fringe benefits are excluded as well.

So now we are asked to levy a flat tax or a sales tax which will greatly increase the tax burden to the poorly paid, and give unjust relief to those who pay themselves very well from corporate income earned thy those paid poorly.