My thanks to the writer of the letter “The facts on who pays income tax” (Feb. 13, TribLIVE), for supporting my point that roughly 50% of wage earners don’t pay income tax (“What’s ‘fair share’ when it comes to taxes?” Jan. 24, TribLIVE). He correctly pointed out that the writer of the letter “High earners get tax breaks” (Jan. 31, TribLIVE) used payroll tax data in an attempt to rebut a letter about income tax.
Letters to the editor are the opinion of the writer. But when the writer chooses to use facts and figures to back up a point, the facts and figures not only need to be accurate but also relevant to the point being argued. Many who read the Jan. 31 letter were likely even more convinced by a faulty argument that wealthy people don’t pay enough income tax.
A point of clarification for the benefit of the writer of “High earners get tax breaks”: The Medicare tax has no cap. All wage earners are taxed at 1.45% for the full amount of their earnings. Once $200,000 is reached, the tax goes up to 2.35%.
So the wealthy really do pay more! Happy now?
Ralph Dunsworth
Oviedo, Fla.
The writer is a former Murrysville resident.