patrick.net

I thought the payroll tax was medicare/medicaid/SS type of stuff, and a tax cut had been granted a while back (you are paying less than you were before) and if/when it expires, your actual taxes will go up.

It was like 6.2% and it's currently 4.2% (or something in that range)...so a 2% tax increase for most people, and a ~50% revenue increase for medicare/medicaid/ss.

You'll pay a few hundred bucks extra (up to around $2k if you max ss payments). It probably wont dramatically affect your life.

In other words this is such a big fucking deal, because once people start taking home a lot less. They will then notice that they have been bent over the barrel for the last 5 years on Gas, Food, Health Insurance, Cars have gone from 18-24K average to 27-38K average.

The party will be over for Wall Street. There's NOT a damn thing wrong with Bill Clinton's tax rate, it bailed America out before. But it just wont be viable, with the Wall Street crooks hand in the American's workforce's pockets. There just wont be room for both.

Everyone is worried about being taxed an extra $1,000 or two, but the truth is Wallstreet has issued a $10,000 tax by gouging the American worker with impunity while Ben Bernanke looks the other way and swears there's no Inflation.

Captain grabbing his lawn chair and ashtray to sit on the lawn and watch the Mayan Cliff calamity. "Honey bring the Pop corn and cooler!"

Kevin says

You'll pay a few hundred bucks extra (up to around $2k if you max ss payments). It probably wont dramatically affect your life.

2 grand off the top of someone who makes ~110k hurts more than 2 grand off of someone who makes 300k or more. Social security tax hits the middle class hardest, and does anyone at all think there going to get back what they put in at this point?

My question is, how does this affect benefits, other than reducing the cash in the trust fund? When you get your benefits summary, will it be lower than it would have been?

CL says

My question is, how does this affect benefits, other than reducing the cash in the trust fund?

It doesn't. Social Security benefits are still based on your inflation adjusted wages (up to the cap) from your 35 best earning years and when you retire.

When you get your benefits summary, will it be lower than it would have been?

No.

Call it Crazy says

Does it also go back up for the employer? Most employers have to match the 6.2%, so doesn't the employer's taxes increase for every employee?

The employers' share never decreased.

(Thanks Drew. I figured as much)

woppa says

Kevin says

You'll pay a few hundred bucks extra (up to around $2k if you max ss payments). It probably wont dramatically affect your life.

2 grand off the top of someone who makes ~110k hurts more than 2 grand off of someone who makes 300k or more. Social security tax hits the middle class hardest, and does anyone at all think there going to get back what they put in at this point?

Yeah, regressive taxes are dumb. I just don't think anyone's life is going to be materially affected by a 2% difference in take-home pay. There's more variability than that in every other aspect of daily finances.

The payroll tax holiday was a stupid idea and I'm glad they're not renewing it.

Kevin says

The payroll tax holiday was a stupid idea and I'm glad they're not renewing it.

I suppose it's stimulative. I just worried that it jeopardized solvency, and got people used to the idea that they could pay less.

I don't remember...why did Obama push it? Was it because the GOP wouldn't agree to cuts without a cut in spending?

Who cares? I just give myself less salary and give myself more restricted stocks. So I don't go over the rich line. There is always a loop hole for the rich. Nothing new or noble. And the peasants and slaves pay mo tax.

The payroll tax reversal shows that neither side really cares about the middle class. If a working couple is pulling in 160K (80/80), their tax goes up by 3.2K. Yet someone who gets their income from carried interest still pay super low rate.

I agree that they should not have cut the payroll tax to begin with, just like Bush tax cuts should not have happened.

This deal is a joke. We went from the supposed 4 Trillion deal last year to less than half that.