Kelly Bullis: Time for Social Security recipients to revolt

Years ago, there was a movie that came out with a famous line. “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any longer!”

Here is one very important fact to get straight. If the threshold for taxing Social Security had been indexed for inflation like most other tax law, the threshold for married couples would jump from the current $44,000 to $93,200. Would that higher threshold cause your Social Security benefits to STOP being taxed?

Here is another rotten fact about Social Security taxation. Currently, a single taxpayer’s threshold for taxing Social Security benefits is $34,000. Married taxpayers’ threshold is only $11,000 higher at $44,000. This punishes married retired folks by taxing their Social Security benefits more than single Social Security recipients.

Finally, another “evil” of the current tax Social Security benefits rules. If you have a small pension of $10,500 a year, and receive $29,000 in Social Security benefits, finding you can’t pay your bills, you go and get a minimum wage part-time job at Walmart as a greeter and earn another $9,000. Your taxable Social Security benefits go from $0 to $4,500. This poor retired person is now only living on a gross income of $48,500 and having $4,500 of his Social Security benefits being taxed. Are you kidding me?

Are you a current Social Security recipient? Are your Social Security benefits a major part of your retirement income? Are you having to pay tax on your Social Security benefits? Did you know that in 1984, less than 10% of Social Security recipients paid tax on their Social Security benefits, but today, over 50% do? Does knowing that you are paying tax on your Social Security so a bunch of U.S. senators can try to give that extra tax away to Ukraine bother you?

So let me ask you. Are you getting mad as hell and you’re not going to take it any longer?

What can you do? You can flood Congress with letters and phone calls demanding they stop over taxing seniors. Use your clout to vote uncooperative members of Congress out of a job.

Stop giving your money to AARP, which turns around and gives your money to Congress members who continue to tax your Social Security. (Join AMAC which advocates dropping taxation of Social Security benefits for most folks.)

Here is how to find your representative and get their contact information. https://www.house.gov/htbin/findrep?ZIP= (enter this into your browser and add your zip code to the end).

Another more active way is to go to the website https://www.contactmypolitician.com.

Have you heard? Speaking of the failings of Israel, Ezekiel 22:7 says, “Father and mother are treated with contempt in you…”

Kelly Bullis is a Certified Public Accountant in Carson City. Contact him at 775-882-4459. On the web at BullisAndCo.com. Also on Facebook.