June 13, 2008
"Obama Plans a Massive Hike in Social Security Taxes"
By James Pethokoukis
Barack Obama just found an extra $600 billion or so (over 10 years). He said today in Columbus, Ohio, that he wants to lift the income cap on Social Security taxes for folks making $250,000 a year or more. Here is a bit from his prepared speech:
Right now, the Social Security payroll tax is capped. That means most middle-class families pay this tax on every dime they make, while millionaires and billionaires are only paying it on a very small percentage of their income. That's why I think the best way forward is to adjust the cap on the payroll tax so that people like me pay a little bit more and people in need are protected. That way we can extend the promise of Social Security without shifting the burden onto seniors. And we should exempt anyone making under $250,000 from this increase so that the change doesn't burden middle-class Americans. This means that 97 percent of Americans will see absolutely no change in their taxes under my plan-97 percent.
. . .
And here are the 10 states that would get hit the hardest by the Obama plan. (Data courtesy of the Tax Foundation and TaxProf Blog):
1. New Jersey (10.7 percent of the state's workers would see their payroll taxes increase.)
2. Maryland (9.6 percent)
3. Connecticut (9.5 percent)
4. Virginia (9.0 percent)
5. Massachusetts (8.9 percent)
6. California (8.8 percent)
7. New York (8.0 percent)
8. Illinois (7.02 percent)
9. Colorado (6.96 percent)
10. New Hampshire (6.8 percent)