General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: What has increased in cost under Trump. Had one saying Trump better because less taxes, ACA cost him [View all]Voltaire2
(12,626 posts)Payroll taxes fund social security and medicare and are a flat rate (except for people who make more than 140,000.)
Income tax rates vary based on your income, and are what the GOP goes after every time they get in power, by reducing the rates at the top end. The last tax cut did almost nothing for lower and middle class workers. A lot of middle class workers saw an apparent decrease in their income taxes, only to have it taken back by the cap on local and state tax deductions when the filed.
If you look at the historical data since 1980, what has happened is that the progressivity has been almost entirely eliminated by removing the top tax brackets. Everyone in the middle is basically paying at a tax rate about the same as they did before tax cut fever took hold.