as a business owner for 15 years and watched my Dad meet one for 20. This concept of "payroll taxes" vs. "income taxes" is a new one to me.

Are we separating wittholding taxes from taxes on other income sources here? My tax return shows my salary income and income from other sources to reach a gross am't to begin deducting from.

What am I missing?

I don't have experience from the business owner end, so I don't know what accounting is done there.

On my pay stub, all my tax withholding are shown as separate items:
"Federal" (meaning federal income tax)
"FICA" (that's payroll tax -- Social Security and Medicare)
"MN" (Minnesota Income tax)

That's about all I know.

that go for Social Security and Medicare taxes. They are dedicated for that purpose and provide the basis of your benefits when you reach retirement age. For the most part you cannot receive a refund on that amount while working. The taxes are not intended to run the government. It is an insurance program.

Income taxes are intended to run the government and provide other services to the people in general.

All red states, generally speaking. Utah #13 - I thought they were so wonderful. Idaho #10, LOL - the only top-ten state in the geographic north -- I used to live there.

#16 - California (sigh, that's one of ours), #17-Oklahoma, #18-Montana, #19-Indiana #20-Michigan (blue), #21-Missouri #22-W.Virginia #23-New York (blue)

Anyway, of the top 22, only California (#16) and Michigan (#20) are blue states based on the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. ( New Mexico (#4) was blue in 2000 and red in 2004).

(In 2008, of the top 22, Florida, North Carolina, Indiana, New Mexico went "blue", i.e. for Obama, while California and Michigan stayed blue for a total of 6 blue states by this definition)

Excerpts from: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-08-18/politics/30039546_1_blue-states-federal-taxes-red-states

Take a look at the difference between federal spending on any given state and the federal taxes received from that state. We measure the difference as a dollar amount: Federal Spending per Dollar of Federal Taxes. A figure of $1.00 means that particular state received as much as it paid in to the federal government. Anything over a dollar means the state received more than it paid; anything less than $1.00 means the state paid more in taxes than it received in services. The higher the figure, the more a given state is a welfare queen.

Of the twenty worst states, 16 are either Republican dominated or conservative states. Let's go through the top twenty.

New Mexico: $2.03
Mississippi: $2.02
Alaska: $1.84
Louisiana: $1.78
West Virginia: $1.76
North Dakota: $1.68
Alabama: $1.66
South Dakota: $1.53
Kentucky: $1.51
Virginia: $1.51
Montana: $1.47
Hawaii: $1.44
Maine: $1.41
Arkansas: $1.41
Oklahoma: $1.36
South Carolina: $1.35
Missouri: $1.32
Maryland: $1.30
Tennessee: $1.27
Idaho: $1.21

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Last edited Wed Sep 19, 2012, 02:43 PM - Edit history (1)

All's they see is taxes being withheld on their pay stub, so they think they are part of the 53% (100% - 47%) that Romney represents. It might be only FICA taxes (i.e. payroll taxes) that are being withheld, but since they don't know one from the other, they think that's federal income tax. Or besides FICA they might also actually be having income taxes withheld, and so they think they are paying income taxes (even though when they file their taxes they get a refund for the same amount -- or often more -- than the income taxes that were withheld).

Come to think of it, to some of them, "FICA" tax might mean to them "Federal Income something-or-other" tax. (Just for fun, come up with what the CA at the end of FICA might mean to the greedbanger mentality-- Federal Income Confiscation Abomination?).

I'm not sure that Romney's remarks hurts him that much given all the ignorance about taxes. I'm betting the vast majority of Romney's base -- lower- and lower-middle income whites -- think they are the Romneyian "tax paying" 53%, when in actuality most don't pay federal income tax, they only think they do. And more importantly, too many independent, undecided, and swing voters think that too. Many people who don't know enough about politics to have made up their mind by now on the race probably are not tax whizzes either.

For those that don't know -- how to find out if you are paying federal income tax: check line 61 of your 2011 Form 1040 -- that's your federal income tax (if any).