6 Things Rich People Need to Stop Saying

[jducoeur]

Thanks to mindways for the pointer to this long screed in Cracked about the irritating self-justifications of the upper class. It's uncomfortably funny in a rather Carlin-esque way: that is, it is rude, over the top, occasionally a bit nasty and, by and large, correct. Frankly, it's worthwhile reading for us various affluent techie types (who may not be the 1%, but a lot of us are at least 10%), as a fairly good guide to how not to be an asshole about it...

Comments

Re: Add to that list....

[serakit.livejournal.com]

Is there a *rationale* for making self-employed people pay more?

Re: Add to that list....

[redsquirrel.livejournal.com]

Is there a *rationale* for making self-employed people pay more?

Yes. When you are an employee your employer is also taxed am amount that matches your 7.15% Social Security/Medicaid tax; in all 15.3% of your pay is reported to the Social Security Agency under your Social Security number although you yourself only paid 1//2 of that.

If you are self-employed, as your own employer you pay both the employer and employee portions as reported on Schedule SE. However 1/2 the Self-Employment Tax - i.e.the 7.15% employer portion - may be deducted from you reported profit and other income to arrive at your Adjusted Gross Income on pg.1 of Form 1040. Your AGI is the figure on which your Federal income tax is then calculated. It's effectively the same as deducting the employer portion as a business expense. Yes, it's rather convoluted. Nobody (sane) ever said the US Tax code was simple.

Re: Add to that list....

[calygrey.livejournal.com]

While that deduction is nice, it's not saving in taxes nearly the equivalent of not having paid it at all.

You don't pay Federal taxes on that 7.15% of your income, which does not come out to being the equivalent of not forking over any of that 7.15% chunk.

Re: Add to that list....

[mneme]

Sure, but the idea is not to have tax loopholes (the idea, not the practice). If you paid 7% on self employment, what about couple employment? Could you avoid paying half your social security taxes by being self employed? Would companies go to contractors-only just to avoid having to shell out that 7.15%? (keep in mind that if you're pricing yourself correctly, you should end up earning just as much either way when consulting). The government is getting the same amount either way as it is, the question is how it's presented, not where it's coming from (not really; the 7.15 percent you don't have to see for trad employment is still coming out of your salary, as it's part of the cost of employing you).

Basically, if they're going to give you a bonus for self-employment, this probably isn't the right place for it.

Now, making SS regressive by only taxing the first XX (plus the extra regression of more middle and higher class people living longer)? That should go.