Why tax Social Security payments?

 Dear Editor: 

As a new retiree on Social Security, I’d like to expand on the remarks in the June 2 “Miner Queries” column.  The points made about doing away with the $118,500 cap on income from which social security tax is taken were well made. But I wonder how many are aware that many retirees now find their social security benefits are taxed. I think I was under the false notion that they were exempt, unless you were very wealthy. That was true until 1984 when Congress, in an effort to strengthen the funding of the system into the future, set income thresholds of $25,000 for singles and $32,000 for joint filers. At these levels up to 50 percent of benefits are taxable. Up to 85 percent of benefits are taxable for single filers with incomes of $34,000, and for joint filers with $44,000. For 1984, these thresholds were probably fair.  However, by today’s standards those incomes are pretty modest. Tax brackets have been adjusted, but the income thresholds for social security beneficiaries have not.  As a result, about 56 percent of Social Security beneficiaries pay income taxes on their benefits.  

So, it seems two realistic adjustments to Social Security need to be made:  1) Raise the income thresholds upon which benefits are taxed. 2)  Start collecting social security on incomes over $118,500.  We’ve been hearing a lot of talk about the latter for some time, but nothing ever happens. I wonder why not. 

Jan Rahmani

Colorado Springs, Colo.