Former President Trump called for an end to the tax many seniors pay on their Social Security income.
“SENIORS SHOULD NOT PAY TAX ON SOCIAL SECURITY!” Trump announced (in all caps) through his Truth Social account Wednesday morning.
Currently, if you are single and your combined income (i.e., your Social Security income plus an outside job) exceeds $25,000, you may have to pay the standard income tax rate on up to $12,500 of your annual Social Security income. If you are single and your combined income exceeds $34,000, you may have to pay the standard income tax rate of up to 85 percent of that $34,000.
The thresholds are only a little higher for a joint income: $32,000 and $44,000.
Not only is ending the Social Security tax a good idea, but it’s a smart play on Trump’s part for senior voters.
As my colleague Matt Boyle recently pointed out:
Another thing to watch as more polling becomes available is whether Trump’s numbers with seniors improve. Against Biden, Trump was doing particularly poorly with this traditionally Republican demographic this cycle. But against Harris, who’s arguably far more radical a Democrat than Biden, this demographic could easily revert—and if the other demographic shifts that we saw before with Trump versus Biden stay the same with Trump gaining the benefits with young voters, Hispanic voters, and black voters, that he did before, this could bottom out the Harris campaign sooner rather than later.
Watching the senior vote benefit Biden wasn’t as counter-intuitive as it seemed. Biden was under attack for being old. Older people might have resented that. Also, high interest rates are a boon for retirees, most of whom are already in their homes and counting on a stable retirement income that benefits from higher interest rates.
Two things might move seniors in Trump’s direction: 1) the coup against the aging Biden and 2) putting an end to the stupid tax on Social Security.
Why in the world would the government send you a check and then tax it? It’s like taxing lottery winnings. It makes no sense.
Plus, those income thresholds listed above are not tied to inflation, so when you’re living under the oppressive Biden/Harris economy where accumulated inflation hovers around 20 percent, your Social Security goes nowhere near as far but the tax threshold doesn’t change.
Most seniors receiving Social Security have paid taxes their whole life. And then there’s this not-small fact…
Throughout your entire working life, the government takes your money through the Social Security tax, uses it, and pays you no interest on it.
That’s money you could have invested over 40 years, which means that even at a modest five percent annual interest rate, you’d double it or better. You’re losing investment income on money the government confiscates.
It only seems fair to not charge seniors taxes. And this is not an unheard-of idea. Prior to 1984, Social Security was not taxed.
However, when the law changed in 1984, the U.S. median income was $24,850 and only those individuals whose income exceeded $25,000 had their Social Security taxed, while the threshold for joint filers was $32,000.
So, only those making above the median income were paying taxes on their Social Security.
Today, the median income is $, but the tax thresholds are almost exactly the same as they were 40 years ago. So, instead of a Social Security tax on those making more than the median income, people making less than half of today’s median income are taxed.
That’s nuts.
John Nolte’s first and last novel, Borrowed Time, is winning five-star raves from everyday readers. You can read an excerpt here and an in-depth review here. Also available in hardcover and on Kindle and Audiobook.