Having just mailed off my 2008 return, and my first payment for 2009,

[Critters2]

I'll admit I hate paying taxes, and cringe every time I write those checks. BUT I also know that the majority of that money is going to the Pentagon, the one thing a religious pacifist like myself would rather not be putting all that money toward, and the one thing the tea baggers seem to support most strongly.

Nothing much else, except that that pisses me off. I'm fully willing to care for the poor, build schools, pave roads, finance public transit, even save a bank or two if it keeps the economy from collapsing. But so much of the money goes to weapons systems and stupid wars, when it could be helping people. I'm not made of money, either, tea-baggers! But YOUR Republican spending got us into this mess. Stop supporting war and weapons systems, and see how much better things go!!

Critters
who would favor an "a la carte" tax system, so I could pay for social programs and they could pay for wars.

[Wapsie B]

1. Yeah I like that a la carte idea.

I'm sure more than a few would be willing to cut off funds for the wars.

[kirby]

2. Defense is about 20%

The majority of your money does not go to the Pentagon.

Go input your annual income here and see the breakdown:

http://www.usataxdollars.com/Default.aspx

(Defense is about 20%)

[Critters2]

4. That calculator is wrong, somehow. I pay estimated tax,

so I know exactly what goes to social security (self-employment tax), and it's way higher than that shows.

[kirby]

5. How could you be paying more?

As an employee you pay 7.65% to Social Sec and Medicare. As an employer you also pay 7.65% to Soc Sec and Medicare (called Self-Employment tax). So that is 15.3% tax to Sec and Medicare for a self employed person. That calculator shows 33.7% going to Soc and Medicare. Of course the calculator is using the US Budget Office numbers so while you pay 15.3%, the remaining is probably being borrowed (or money that was supposed to be in the trust fund from previous generations).

Another issue is that the Soc Sec Tax is only collected on the first $102,000 of income.

[Critters2]

6. Sorry, you're right. I pay, that is, I write the check for the whole

15.3, because my employer gives me their 7.65 to add on to mine. For the life of me, I can't figure out why clergy are considered self-employed. Life was so much easier when I had a normal job, with withholding. If the government knew how many clergy don't report honoraria and the like, they'd find a better way for clergy to pay taxes.

Sorry, I couldn't sleep at all last night, and have been stupid all day. Just ask my piano teacher!

Critters
who lists every penny from every funeral because I don't want trouble with the IRS

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. a la carte system would work for me, too

Like you, I don't want to pay for wars.