The Slightly Progressive Payroll Tax

[Max Sawicky]

I tell people the numbers show the payroll tax
is progressive thru the 9th income decile and
they call me nuts.  Well they will find some
other reason to call me nuts, lord knows there
are a couple, but CTJ has just put out a "Tax
Day 2000" paper with that very same result.

Their tables show the payroll tax is progressive
thru the fourth quintile (they don't show deciles)
for all taxpayers.

Also amusing is CTJ's response to the Tax
Foundation's "Tax Freedom Day" idiocy.

Turns out that for the middle quintile of
taxpayers, "Tax Freedom Day" (the day their
income accumulates sufficiently to offset
their imputed annual income tax liability)
is January 21.

The piece is not up on their web site yet,
but it should be any time now:
http://www.ctj.org

mbs