But withholding is what makes people shout to the high heavens for tax relief. They never get around to figuring out what they really paid in taxes as I have (I asked a small sampling of my coworkers. Not one knew the percentage of their tax paid versus their income, either gross or AGI). As you can see from my figures, I'm not being hurt too badly. Had one of the flat tax proposals from about twenty years ago passed, I'd be paying more than I am now. As I recall, one of the proposals had me paying 17% of my gross! SCAM!
Sure, there are also FICA and SSI and state and local sales and property and auto ...and...and... I'll maybe get to summing all of those someday. But if one thinks about all the things that the Federal government does for me and my family, paid out of my income tax, I'd call that a bargain — the best I ever had.
Article comments
1 - Dave Nalle
Realist, I don't see how your figures can possible be correct, but maybe those two college tax credits make more difference at your income level than they do at mine. I don't think that even when I was at a substantially lower income level I paid less than about 18% of AGI.
2 - Realist
Then either you need a better tax accountant, or dependents. If I were single, I'd be paying much more.
3 - Glenn Contrarian
Realist -
Thank you!
4 - El Bicho
Apparently you also want to rile up Pete Townsend fans. You should have credited him for the last sentence in the article.