Letter: Social Security unfairly taxes middle class

Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2001 | 8:39 a.m.

A recent rumor the Washington crowd is floating about decreasing the payroll taxes is one of the best ideas ever to come out of the deep pit.

I have found that the majority of the working class thinks that everyone has the payroll taxes deducted year-round. They are very surprised when I tell them that only the Medicare portion (1.5 percent) is deducted year-round, independent of how much one earns.

Congress, in its infinite wisdom, exempted themselves from this portion of the payroll tax. The Social Security portion, which is about 6.15 percent, is only deducted on earnings up to $70,000.

The government will collect the same amount for Social Security if the tax rate was dropped to 2.5 percent and the cap was removed. This would give the middle-class worker who makes $70,000 or less about a 3.65-percent raise. This is far better than the meager $300 or $600 tax rebate.

A person now making $30,000 a year would have $91.25 to spend each month. Small businesses would also be helped because they now have to pay more than 15 percent.

I hope that Washington will act on this very abusive tax on the middle class. If you agree, write to your representatives in Washington.

LOU DE BOTTARI

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