No, not my writing, but very much worth the read.
The Tax Debate We Want and Need
I have nothing profound to add. This article is a good primer on what the issues are in the current debate and how our federal tax system works.
I put a quote below the fold to pique your interest.
In less than 100 days - on January 1, 2012 to be exact - the vast majority of Americans are scheduled to receive the single largest tax hike in their working lifetimes.
A single parent, working full time as a janitor or fast food worker at federal minimum wage of just $7.25/hr, will be hit with a $290 annual tax increase. A teacher, nurse, construction worker, or factory supervisor earning $50,000 will pay another $1000. And a two-income, professional family, with each spouse making about $106,500? They’ll get whacked with a whopping additional $4,240 during 2012.
That’s because, in stark contrast to federal income taxes, the payroll tax -clunkily known as the Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) - is levied on the very first dollar of earnings. Employees have long paid 6.2 percent for Social Security, and another 1.45 percent for Medicare. Employers then must match these amounts, for a combined 15.3 percent. (Self employed Americans must pay both halves).
It's written by Phil Keisling. His bio on the article read:
He served as Secretary of State for Oregon from 1991 to 1999. He was an investigative reporter for the Willamette Week from 1978 to 1982 and an editor at the Washington Monthly from 1982 to 1984.