So, I’m cutting and pasting most of this to show the ‘pros and cons’ of what the Republicans think is a great idea. So bear with me. Sources included.
Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump·If you want to get money into the hands of people quickly & efficiently, let them have the full money that they earned, APPROVE A PAYROLL TAX CUT until the end of the year, December 31. Then you are doing something that is really meaningful. Only that will make a big difference!
Put simply, payroll taxes are taxes paid on the wages and salaries of employees. These taxes are used to finance social insurance programs, such as Social Security and Medicare.
Jeff Tiedrich@itsJeffTiedrich·Replying to @realDonaldTrumpfact check: all a payroll tax cut will accomplish is to starve Social Security of necessary funds. but remember, this is the guy who went on Fox News last week and promised to cut entitlements
Payroll taxes are the 7.65% of earnings taken out of employee paychecks and the 7.65% that’s levied on employers to fund the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. … The idea for such cuts is to juice paychecks, putting more money into people’s pockets to increase their spending during downturns.15 hours ago
Trump is pushing a payroll tax cut that would do virtually …
BUT…
Maybe we would all be a little more interested and involved if the “payroll tax” system was done away with and we had to write one big check to the government every month or even every year.
The way I’m reading this (correct me if I’m wrong) we pay our taxes ‘upfront’ in the form of ‘payroll taxes’ so that, one: the government gets monthly income to run things and two: we either use it as a savings account or pay a great big tax bill at the end of the year.
Here are some thoughts from the Washington Post’s comment section:
Just so we all remember, when Obama lowered the 6.2 percent tax to 4.2 percent, it did NOT impact the employer contribution, AND, the S.S. Trust fund was made whole with a transfer equal to the employee’s 2 percent from the General Fund.
Unless you are filthy rich this should scare you. Payroll tax cut, then no money for Social Security, no money for Medicare. Four more years of this guy and the country will be bankrupt. And if you’re over 65 on Medicare you’re really in the hurts. These tax cuts are like being hooked on dope. Once you Get a tax cut you can’t live without it. If Biden wins there’s no way out of this mess without raising taxes. I’d rather pay a higher tax knowing that my health care is covered.
A cut to Social Security taxes is just a back door way for Trump and the Republicans to destroy Social Security. Which is their stated goal. It would be far better to cut federal income taxes. However, that too would be of no benefit to the recently unemployed. So tax cuts are not the way to go.
Of course you know where trump got this “idea;” it was from people who want to destroy Social Security by defunding it. The plan is that the tax goes down “temporarily” and republicans refuse the “tax hike” of restoring it to the previous level. And Social Security is underfunded and should be “privatized” for the benefit of the financial industry.
And workers? Who cares about them? Not trump, not republicans. Or should we call them “republican’ts?”
and finally, how about this:
Having enough tax withheld or making quarterly estimated tax payments during the year can help you avoid problems at tax time.
Taxes are pay-as-you-go. This means that you need to pay most of your tax during the year, as you receive income, rather than paying at the end of the year.
There are two ways to pay tax:
- Withholding from your pay, your pension or certain government payments, such as Social Security.
- Making quarterly estimated tax payments during the year.
This will help you avoid a surprise tax bill when you file your return. You can also avoid interest or the Estimated Tax Penalty for paying too little tax during the year. Ordinarily, you can avoid this penalty by paying at least 90 percent of your tax during the year.
So if Trump gets his way and cuts payroll taxes to zero ? Does that mean we don’t pay ANY income taxes on our income? If so, then doesn’t everything go in the toilet? SS, Medicare, Defense and the entire government in general? We already owe something like 22 TRILLION DOLLARS IN DEBT
Is a payroll tax cut really a good idea then?
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