If You Think You Will Never Be Taxed on Your Social Security Checks, Think Again. Here's what the Press Is Saying about double taxation on Social Security and The Seniors Tax Elimination Act:
THE BLAZE
GOP Reps. Pushing to End 'Double-Taxing by the Federal Government'
"Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced… the Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act, to do away with income taxes on Social Security benefits… 'Seniors have already paid tax on their Social Security contributions, so taxing Social Security is double-taxing by the federal government,' Massie said.
DeSantis echoed Massie's sentiments… '[The bill] blows the whistle on the federal government for double-taxing the Social Security benefits of senior citizens. Individuals already pay taxes to support Social Security, so there is no reason why these earned benefits should be taxed on the back end.'
The GOP representatives argue the purpose of Social Security is 'to provide people with financial support during retirement, not to be another source of tax revenue for the federal government.'
If the bill passes, Social Security benefits would neither be taxable nor reportable on individual tax returns, thus restoring the integrity of the program."
Houston Chronicle
Social Security tax unfair and impractical
"This bill would amend the Internal Revenue code. It would repeal inclusion of Social Security benefits in the calculation of federal income taxes.
Congress voted, in 1983, to start taxing Social Security benefits. The formula for taxation was written in such a way that few retirees would be affected in 1984. But the provision wasn't indexed for inflation. So more retirees pay the tax every year.
They aren't fat cats. As I demonstrated last week, the taxation of Social Security benefits is strictly a middle-class tax."
Dallas Morning News
The stealth tax on retiree income
"Older readers start grinding their teeth when they get their taxes done. This year is no different. The grinding starts when retirees discover that their tax bills are a lot higher than they thought they would be.
How can this happen? Simple. When Social Security was created, one of the fundamental promises was that benefits would never be taxed.
But that was then. Some retirees have been paying taxes on their benefits since 1984. That was when both parties, in a rare display of bipartisan agreement, voted to begin taxing Social Security benefits…
… Few retirees protested back then. The reason for that is simple, too. The formula for the taxation of benefits is not indexed for inflation. So it acts as a stealth tax, rising as the dollar loses value. While only 3 percent of retirees were expected to pay any taxes back then, inflation has caused more than 30 percent of retirees to pay higher taxes today.
More will pay tomorrow, so it's a genuine multigenerational hosing."
The HILL
GOP bill ends taxes on Social Security payments
"Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced a bill this week to eliminate income taxes on Social Security payments, a change he said would end the government's policy of taxing these benefits twice.
'Seniors have already paid tax on their Social Security contributions, so taxing Social Security is double-taxing by the federal government,' Massie said… 'Taxing Social Security reduces benefits to seniors.'
…the purpose of Social Security is to provide support during retirement, not to be another source of tax revenue for the government. He said ending the tax on retirement payments would restore the integrity of the program and keep the government from using the revenue to fund other programs.
'Taxing these benefits is an accounting sleight of hand that redistributes portions of the Social Security trust fund to other areas of government,' he said.
Massie's Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act… blows the whistle on the federal government for double taxing the Social Security benefits of senior citizens … individuals already pay taxes to support Social Security, so there is no reason why these earned benefits should be taxed on the back end.' "