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Oh for...*headwall*
Oct. 13th, 2011 10:18 pmCan we NOT with the conflating of "does not pay Federal Income Tax" and "does not pay taxes"?
PLEASE????
For the last handful of years, my household has paid little to no Federal income tax, mostly because our household income has been moderately low and we've been eligible for education tax credits in sufficient amounts to cancel out whatever tax liability we had based on adjusted gross income.
I can assure you that, since 2007, our household has paid ALL of the following taxes:
1) FICA (Social Security/Medicare)
2) State income taxes, which follow different rules from Federal
3) State/local sales taxes
4) Local property taxes (to the extent that the T in PITI makes up almost as much of my payment as the PI)
5) Gasoline taxes
6) Hotel occupancy taxes (except when I'm traveling on official State business, which I did a lot of this year)
Back when I was a single working adult and not going to school simultaneously, I paid Federal income tax as well. However, the tax code is structured in such a way that right now taxes aren't collected from me by that particular method.
John and I have also appropriately paid self-employment taxes (employer-side FICA) in the years when we've owed those taxes.
I also DO pay for my family's medical insurance plan (at a bit more than $100 per biweekly pay period) and I pay into a use-it-or-lose-it pre-tax medical account and pay my employer-mandated 3% of salary into a retirement account that I have no damn clue whether or not I'll ever actually benefit from because who knows how broke or broken it'll be 25-30 years from now?
I also participate in SEFA (payroll-deduction charitable contribution that I direct to a few organizations I believe need supporting) to an extent that is apparently much higher than many people "manage", even though I'm certainly nowhere near the top of my department's salary structure. And since I'm not in a financial position to itemize deductions, no, I don't just "take it off my taxes". (And yes, I'd be supporting organizations with time as well as money if it weren't for the fact that, by way of being a social work student in a field placement, I am literally paying to work for the agency where I'm placed.)
In short: We are not the freeloaders you're looking for. Nor are most of the 47%, though their stories and circumstances are sure to vary from ours.
PLEASE????
For the last handful of years, my household has paid little to no Federal income tax, mostly because our household income has been moderately low and we've been eligible for education tax credits in sufficient amounts to cancel out whatever tax liability we had based on adjusted gross income.
I can assure you that, since 2007, our household has paid ALL of the following taxes:
1) FICA (Social Security/Medicare)
2) State income taxes, which follow different rules from Federal
3) State/local sales taxes
4) Local property taxes (to the extent that the T in PITI makes up almost as much of my payment as the PI)
5) Gasoline taxes
6) Hotel occupancy taxes (except when I'm traveling on official State business, which I did a lot of this year)
Back when I was a single working adult and not going to school simultaneously, I paid Federal income tax as well. However, the tax code is structured in such a way that right now taxes aren't collected from me by that particular method.
John and I have also appropriately paid self-employment taxes (employer-side FICA) in the years when we've owed those taxes.
I also DO pay for my family's medical insurance plan (at a bit more than $100 per biweekly pay period) and I pay into a use-it-or-lose-it pre-tax medical account and pay my employer-mandated 3% of salary into a retirement account that I have no damn clue whether or not I'll ever actually benefit from because who knows how broke or broken it'll be 25-30 years from now?
I also participate in SEFA (payroll-deduction charitable contribution that I direct to a few organizations I believe need supporting) to an extent that is apparently much higher than many people "manage", even though I'm certainly nowhere near the top of my department's salary structure. And since I'm not in a financial position to itemize deductions, no, I don't just "take it off my taxes". (And yes, I'd be supporting organizations with time as well as money if it weren't for the fact that, by way of being a social work student in a field placement, I am literally paying to work for the agency where I'm placed.)
In short: We are not the freeloaders you're looking for. Nor are most of the 47%, though their stories and circumstances are sure to vary from ours.
