I teach school for 40 grand a year before taxes.

[lacrew]

71. I take it you didn't read my post

...or do we agree that it is a false statement to say that a SE person making $40k pays 15% SS tax?

Or do you dispute my calculation?

I am going to repeat a statement I made earlier:

"Please know about taxes before running off with slogans about it."

Your 15% assertion was quite specific, and easily proved to be false...which makes for a very bad rallying cry.

If you want to change the subject to hidden taxes, I do not like federal excise taxes to use the phone, fly an airplane, etc. etc....because it is regressive. I do not like franchise fees which are a backdoor tax to utility users. I do not like PILOT payments from municipal functions back to the general fund. All of these are hidden, and regressive. But that does not excuse the OP from making the original error of declaring to have a rate 2.5 times that of Romney's, or yours of claiming the OP would pay 15% SS tax. These are fundamentally incorrect statements...and you can't win an argument spouting off numbers somebody's cousin posted on their Facebook page....you have to have genuine numbers.

Now, if you want to bring in state taxes, the Massachussetts system looks to have had alot of recent changes...but has landed on 5.3% for cap gains, interest and dividends (used to be over 12% and may actually be that rate for some of Romney's longer held holdings).

And, most income is taxed at a flat rate of 5.3%. Ergo, bring state taxes into the discussion does not add or take away from the argument.

Please everybody, KNOW about taxes, before making claims which will easily be debunked.