Category Archives: Center for Business and Economic Insight

The most significant changes from the 2018 tax bill under President Trump impacted corporations. The significant benefits to corporations included the following: a reduction in the statutory corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, 2) capital spending (spending on property, plant, and equipment) could be immediately expensed rather than depreciated, and 3) the taxation of […]

Beginning in 2018, tax law changed under President Trump, with the most significant changes and reductions occurring to corporate taxes. The new tax law keeps the seven tax brackets that existed under President Obama, with the bracket amounts adjusted slightly. However, the tax rates that apply to each tax bracket were generally reduced. This was […]

How did income tax rates change under President Obama relative to President Bush? The answer is: not much, except for the tax rate that applied to the highest income bracket. The tax rates that were in effect under President Obama were generally derived from the “Bush Tax Cuts” that were implemented in 2003. Under President […]

The federal income tax structure is a progressive tax structure. Theoretically, the more you make the more you pay. This structure has been a principle tenet of the federal income tax system, and remained in place under Presidents Bush, Obama, and Trump. As demonstrated below, there are progressively higher tax rates that apply to increasingly […]

Obviously, much can change when it comes to Social Security.  Given that by 2035 payroll taxes will only provide about 75 cents for each dollar of scheduled Social Security benefits and that the retirement and survivors benefits trust fund is projected to be depleted, something will have to change. Politically, it may become a significant […]

As indicated earlier, employees and employers each pay 6.2% (up to a salary limit of $132,900 in 2019) of an employee’s earnings for Social Security; 1.45% of earnings for Medicare. These taxes potentially fund the four categories of Social Security benefits. These current tax payments into Social Security are being dispersed to those receiving benefits […]

You won’t get rich on Social Security benefits; the estimated 2019 benefits from the Social Security Administration are below. Social Security helps, but it will not typically provide all the money that is needed in retirement.  Currently, the Social Security Administration estimates that Social Security (retirement benefits) replaces about 40% of an average (middle income) […]

In essence, Social Security programs are funded through payroll taxes. Employees and their employers each pay 6.2% (4.2% for employees in 2011 and 2012) of earnings for Social Security taxes; 1.45% of earnings for Medicare taxes. Medicare is the country’s basic health insurance program for people age 65 and older, and for many people with […]

As indicated above, Social Security was initially focused on retirement benefits, but the program expanded through the years to enhance economic security for a variety of Americans. There are currently four categories of Social Security benefits: Retirement benefits – partial benefits available at age 62; full benefits are a function of birth date Disability benefits […]