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Originally Posted by whell
I couldn't agree more. We've at least found some common ground.
You're wearing me out on this, and you're busy taking my statements out of context, or putting words in my mouth. I'm done with this. My comments stand.
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I can't fault you for including FICA and Medicare within the calculations of the tax rate, because that has consistently been my position every time you said that half of the population doesn't pay federal tax. I'm glad to see that you have adopted that logic.
What is irrefutable is that no one - under the tax rates that would go into effect under current legislation; under the GOP plan to re-enact all of the Bush tax cuts; or under the President's plan to re-enact the tax cuts for all but the highest 2% of incomes - will pay taxes at the 42.6% rate, because the 6.2% tax rate for social security falls out of the equation long before w-2 income reaches the top rate. Therefore you must subtract that 6.2% from what you say is the highest rate. I sincerely wish that that modification to the calculations did not have to be made, because that would put the fund in much better shape, but that is the way it is - FICA is a regressive tax.
Now you can surprise all of us by acknowledging that one fact - not including my commentary - the simple fact that those whose pay scale puts them into the top bracket do not pay the 6.2% FICA tax on the income that is taxed at the the top rate. Therefore your suggestion that people pay 42.6% is not accurate.
I'll close with a quote from Elvis Costello:
Quote:
No, don't ask me to apologise.
I won't ask you to forgive me.
If I'm gonna go down,
you're gonna come with me
You say 'Why don't you be a man about it,
like they do in the grown-up movies?'
. . . .
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Regards,
D-Ray