7 ms·
Not so. I'm part of a religious community for whom FICA is something we can opt out of via IRS Form 4029, and I can avoid contributions to FICA more broadly (no
by nrr 29d ago
Not so. I'm part of a religious community for whom FICA is something we can opt out of via IRS Form 4029, and I can avoid contributions to FICA more broadly (not just SS taxes!) by handing HR the approved 4029 that I receive in response to filing.
I don't know how available this is to folks who aren't Mennonite or Mennonite-adjacent, but it's there.
- WalterBright 29d agoAbout 0.14% of the population is Mennonite. By filing 4029, you assert that your community is going to provide the equivalent of SS and Medicare, so it amounts to about the same thing.
- nrr 29d agoMy remark was a rebuttal to the assertion that these contributions were guaranteed. That notwithstanding, I'm unsure that I agree that it amounts to about the same thing; we tend to take care of each other as a matter of due course and not as a transaction. The mainstream Anglo-American attitude around this kind of support leaves me scratching my head a lot of the time.
- WalterBright 29d agoIt is a kind of transaction. While I don't know the details, isn't it some form of you support the community, and the community supports you when you're in need?
- nrr 29d agoNot at all. Tithing[0] is contributed as one is able, but assistance in the face of hardship is no questions asked. For my congregation in particular while I was growing up, this extended even to non-members, and there was a strong thread of volunteerism. -- 0: Tithing can take many forms beyond giving cash. I tithed my RSUs.