Like it or not, we all need to pay taxes. Seniors are no exception. Everyone in the pool.
As I do my daily social media surfing I am finding a disturbing trend- anti tax sentiment and one group or another thinking they should be exempt from taxes. We Americans are not among the highest taxed countries and despite the rhetoric, the wealthy do pay the great bulk of taxes.
Seniors seem to be the most vocal looking for tax exemption. Many feel they should be exempt from property taxes and of course, paying taxes on Social Security benefits. I am not referring to seniors living in or near poverty.
I find the calls to exempt seniors from property taxes most disturbing and illogical. Especially as property taxes are the primary source of school funding.
Income taxes on Social Security benefits contribute $50 billion a year to the SS trust and $35 billion to Medicare Part A trust.
To me, looking to avoid taxes without considering what they provide is like saying a family living on credit cards should not have to pay the bill at the end of the month because they earned or deserve what they purchased.
“Earned” and “deserve” are frequently used in posts. Living on a fixed income and inflation are common themes.
Exempting one group of citizens from taxes simply shifts more to another group. Frankly, I don’t think seniors deserve more consideration than a young working family trying to build their future.
Besides, no group of citizens (often without regard to income) receives more benefits, more special treatment, more discounts than seniors. Possibly as a result of a general erroneous mindset that seniors as a group are poor.
Preparing for retirement, a life-long process in my view, includes preparing for taxes of all kinds. The pages of HD are full of discussion on the subject. We all use the tax code to minimize our taxes, but we pay what is necessary - to provide vital services, to have good schools and to assist those in need. That how a good society works. Being fortunate by getting old does not exempt us from that responsibility IMO.
We seniors had a lifetime to prepare for living in old age, without a paycheck. If a person had modest earnings their working life, chances are that will not change in retirement, nor is it a surprise. We knew our income might not grow, we knew inflation was real, we knew we would owe taxes and should have known some would increase.
Sorry, it’s everyone in the pool in my book - while providing necessary assistance to those truly in need.
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