But the end result is the same. You don’t “make 50k, and lose 15k to taxes”, you just make 35k. That’s is. That’s what you make. If you want more, talk to your employer.
Your employer is taxed on your income by “Payroll tax”, which is a tax against the employer and is not income tax:
Payroll taxes include amounts paid by both the employee and the employer to cover any federal taxes due, while income taxes specifically refer to the amount owed by the employee to cover their individual federal income taxes owed.
Source. I’m not trying to be pedantic – in your original post, you said “Income tax is just a fine charged on the company for having employees” which is objectively not true. Income tax != payroll tax.
Yes, you’re 100% factually correct. However, it’s not useful to complain about an income tax because society benefits from those services. Fundamentally, if you’re unhappy with your take home, you need to complain about your salary. And to accept that, you need to make the mental switch to believing that your pre-tax income is not actually your income.
No, that’s exactly what happens. Have you ever filed a tax return? We’re not debating subjective interpretation here. You make a gross income that is then taxed by the government. The income tax that the government takes is your gross income.
Your employer is taxed on your income by “Payroll tax”, which is a tax against the employer and is not income tax:
Source. I’m not trying to be pedantic – in your original post, you said “Income tax is just a fine charged on the company for having employees” which is objectively not true. Income tax != payroll tax.
Yes, you’re 100% factually correct. However, it’s not useful to complain about an income tax because society benefits from those services. Fundamentally, if you’re unhappy with your take home, you need to complain about your salary. And to accept that, you need to make the mental switch to believing that your pre-tax income is not actually your income.