The Payroll Tax Liabilities of Low- and Middle-Income Taxpayers

Abstract

This 2005 article explores how using the "average" increase in wages rather than the "median" increase in wages to determine the yearly increase in the payroll tax wage bases-at a time of increasing inequality-has contributed markedly to the increased tax burden on labor income of the poor and middle classes.

Keywords: payroll tax, social security tax, medicare tax, income inequality, wage inequality

JEL Classification: H20, H24