Kelly Bullis
Years ago, there was a movie with the main character screaming out…”I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it any longer!” Well, that pretty well sums it up.
When Trump ran for president, one of his key campaign promises was to stop taxing Social Security. Turns out, the current “Big Beautiful Bill” does NOT have any provision for removing Social Security from being taxable.
Congress’ excuse? Apparently, when President Reagan got a “fix Social Security” bill through in 1984, there was a provision that prevents it from being modified without full Senate rules, including the filibuster proof 60-vote requirement. The goal of the “Big Beautiful Bill” is to pass it without having to reach the 60-vote threshold in the Senate. By leaving Social Security out of the bill, they can get it passed with a simple majority in the Senate.
So, Congress thinks that giving a $4,000 additional standard deduction will make folks happy who are still going to have to pay tax on their Social Security benefits. The average person has an extra $25,000 of Social Security benefits being taxed and now it will be reduced by only $4,000! You’ve got to be kidding me! On top of that, the $4,000 extra deduction goes away at such a low adjusted gross income threshold, most will not see it anyway! That’s like somebody slashing all four of your car tires and then handing you a coupon for $5 off the cost of replacing your tires.
The main reason Social Security is even being taxed by so many folks is the original 1984 formula for computing the taxable portion of Social Security, which has never been adjusted for inflation.
Could Congress at least modify the formula and index it for inflation? NO! They think the same filibuster rule might kick in, so they are avoiding it. Now don’t let the Democrats off the hook on this. How many times have they screamed about Republicans attacking Social Security and then while the Democrats were in power, they didn’t fix the computation formula or even attempt to drop Social Security from being taxed at all?
This is a problem of the entire Congress. Republicans and Democrats. It is not President Trump’s fault. He can only request things, Congress has to pass a bill to fix Social Security taxation, which they are not even trying to do right now. To make things worse, the Republicans are having so much disagreement among themselves, that they are struggling to get the “Big Beautiful Bill” passed. We are facing the largest tax increase in history because a few grandstanding Republicans are vying for attention.
Call the congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121. Ask for Congressman Amodei. Ask for Congresswomen Dina Titus. Ask for Congresswoman Susie Lee. Ask for Congressman Steven Horsford. What do you tell them? (Go back to the top of this column for ideas.)
Have you heard? Psalm 4:4a says, “Be angry, and do not sin…”
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.