Oh noes, teh overtaxed Americans!

[DRoseDARs]

Originally posted by OzzyKP
Cause he's loaded and doesn't live too far from us.

Or he's dirt poor and has been leading us on for years...

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by snoopy369


Good point about sales taxes. I suppose I pay another 9% on nearly everything except rent, which is 22% of my gross income, so add another 7% or so to that figure

No. Illinois sales tax on food and drugs is only 2% in Cook county

[Drogue]

Holy ****, I pay more than that and I'm a friggin' student, who doesn't earn enough to qualify for basic oncome tax. But I pay ~10% in national insurance (basically social security). Having said that getting paid over £4k for the summer will be pretty sweet. Even if I did just turn down ~£7k working at the place nextdoor. The things I do to avoid selling out

More money I've ever had in my life for 10 weeks work. Uni's changed me

[Apocalypse]

FICA takes a lot out of my paychecks and I don't even know what it is.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Apocalypse
FICA takes a lot out of my paychecks and I don't even know what it is.

Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax is a United States employment tax levied in an equal amount on employees and employers to fund federal programs for retirees, disabled, and children of deceased workers. The FICA taxes support Social Security and Medicare. The Federal Insurance Contributions Act is codified as Chapter 21 of Subtitle C of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 3101 through 26 U.S.C. § 3128).

Social Security benefits include old-age, survivors, and disability insurance or OASDI. Medicare is the hospital insurance portion.

For 2005, the employee's share of the Social Security portion is 6.2% of wages up to $90,000; for 2006 this amount increases to $94,200. This limit, known as the "FICA-wage-base", goes up each year based on average national wages and in general at a faster rate than the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). The employee's share of the Medicare portion is 1.45% of wages with no limit. The employer is also liable for separate 6.2% and 1.45% Social Security and Medicare taxes, respectively, making the total Social Security tax 12.4% and the total Medicare tax 2.9%, respectively, of wages.

Wiki is your friend...

But, really, 6.2% + 1.45% is not all that much.

As far as I'm concerned, paying a total of 17-18% of my income in exchange for everything a government does is an incredible bargain. I can't believe people whine about their taxes in the US; I really can't.

Frankly, I'm more irritated at having to give up 4.1% of my income every year for private health insurance.

[Jaguar]

7.65% might not be all that much, but 15.3% is.

[Wraith]

About 33% if you take all of FICA into account, but that's just for federal (effective, not marginal). Add in local sales (8.5%) and property (6.something, although since it's based on property valuations rather than income it doesn't simply add in) and it's rather higher.

Since I'm single, kidless, and unmarried, I get to pay for all the rest of you buggers. The mortgage interest deduction is the only thing making it as low as it is (no, that's not sarcasm... the numbers are rather higher without it).

--"I can't believe people whine about their taxes in the US; I really can't."

Yer, well, like they say, "Those who rob Peter to pay Paul can always count on the support of Paul". Frankly, I think I'm entitled to complain as much as want, given how wonderfully our government handled Katrina compared to the amount of money we spend on feeling up grandmothers and keeping toddlers off of airplanes.

Wraith
"A citizen can hardly distinguish between a tax and a fine, except that the fine is generally much lighter."
-- G.K. Chesterton

[KrazyHorse]

FICA is not properly a tax as some of your benefits are based on your contributions.

[Drake Tungsten]

I can't believe people whine about their taxes in the US; I really can't.

Most of us younger than you are never going to see a return on all that money FICA takes every month.

[DanS]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
Why would you care?

Some might not know that it's a fairly routine matter to work backward from this percentage figure to income. That's all.

Che is just stating what is well known anyway. In the US, the well-heeled pay the vast majority of the federal income taxes and might have reason to complain. Everybody else pays just enough that they have some investment in the system and care about what's going on in Washington.

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse


No. Illinois sales tax on food and drugs is only 2% in Cook county

Which is why I said 'nearly' everything. My GF buys much of our food (I cook), so I don't spend that much at 2%.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten

I can't believe people whine about their taxes in the US; I really can't.

Most of us younger than you are never going to see a return on all that money FICA takes every month.

I may never see FICA, either. But it is going to members of my family right now, so I'm not going to whine about it.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Wraith
Since I'm single, kidless, and unmarried, I get to pay for all the rest of you buggers. The mortgage interest deduction is the only thing making it as low as it is (no, that's not sarcasm... the numbers are rather higher without it).

This is the real issue, as far as I'm concerned. The tax code is skewed powerfully in favor of those of us who are married with children, especially if we're homeowners. That's absurd, because in my experience married, homeowning parents make far, far more use of government services than do childess singles.

So okay, you can whine.

[Barnabas]

I earn 548 dollars per month

But that is actually a middle class income here

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Rufus T. Firefly


This is the real issue, as far as I'm concerned. The tax code is skewed powerfully in favor of those of us who are married with children, especially if we're homeowners. That's absurd, because in my experience married, homeowning parents make far, far more use of government services than do childess singles.

So okay, you can whine.

married with children are much more likely to contribute to the future of the nation than childless singles...

(the home owner thing is probably still a prejudice in favor of property owners that has been true foever)

JM