Crucially, this need not be, and should not be, a matter of raising taxes in the aggregate. The proceeds from a gasoline tax ought to be used to finance cuts in other taxesâthis, surely, is the way to present them to a sceptical electorate.
Social Security and Medicare Withholding Rates. The current tax rate for social security is 6.2% for the employer and 6.2% for the employee, or 12.4% total. The current rate for Medicare is 1.45% for the employer and 1.45% for the employee, or 2.9% total.
The rate for Social Security tax, as of 2015, is 12.4 percent of income, of which the employee pays 6.2 percent, and the employer pays 6.2 percent, states the IRS. The wage base limit for Social Security taxes is $118,500. Medicare tax is 2.9 percent of income, split evenly between the employee and employer. However, Medicare has no wage base limit, and employees must pay an extra annual Medicare tax of .9 percent on earnings over $200,000 that employers do not have to match.