Recommended Citation
Manoj Viswanathan,
Making Social Security Progressive, 124
Colum. L. Rev. F.
67
(2024).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/faculty_scholarship/2014
Publication Date
2024
Abstract
Social Security is funded by a regressive tax in which wages below the wage cap ($160,200 in 2023) are taxed at a flat rate but wages above the cap are taxed at zero. To address this normative shortcoming and make Social Security progressive, this Piece proposes eliminating the wage cap and using the resulting additional revenue to fund a zero-rate Social Security tax bracket analogous to the standard deduction of the federal income tax. IRS data show that these changes could fund an exemption of at least $10,000, thereby saving low-wage taxpayers approximately $1,200. By altering only the distribution of the tax burden, but not the total revenue collected or Social Security benefits, these changes would also be straightforward to implement. These changes would be especially valuable for millions of impoverished low-wage earners for whom the additional funds would provide much-needed support, and for certain racial groups whose decreased life expectancy reduces their total Social Security benefits.
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Columbia Law Review Forum