Most Americans Will Pay Social Security Taxes for a Full Year

The article discusses how the wealthy, including top corporate executives and billionaires like Elon Musk, exploit their assets to avoid paying income tax. The article highlights several examples of how companies tend to keep the cash components of executive pay as low as possible, while paying out stock options and other equity awards that are not subject to payroll taxes.

The article also notes that it is difficult to determine the actual amount of compensation earned by top executives, as companies often use complex accounting practices to obscure their true income. For example, Apple’s proxy statement disclosed that in 2023, the company "actually paid" $106.6 million to Tim Cook, but stated that this figure does not represent cash or equity value realized or paid.

The article concludes by arguing that if the wealthy paid their fair share of taxes, they might well be solvent enough for Social Security and other social programs to be expanded and extended into the future. The author suggests that the current system is unfair and allows the wealthy to exploit loopholes and avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

Some key points from the article include:

• Top corporate executives often have compensation packages that are heavily weighted towards stock options and equity awards, which are not subject to payroll taxes.
• Companies tend to keep cash components of executive pay as low as possible, while paying out stock options and other equity awards.
• It is difficult to determine the actual amount of compensation earned by top executives, due to complex accounting practices used by companies.
• The wealthy exploit their assets without incurring income tax, often by borrowing against them or using complex financial arrangements to avoid taxes.
• If the wealthy paid their fair share of taxes, social programs like Social Security might be solvent enough for benefits to be expanded and extended into the future.

Overall, the article argues that the current system is unfair and allows the wealthy to exploit loopholes and avoid paying their fair share of taxes.