Taxing the bonus
by Chris Jungle

As the end of the year approaches, there is something that the working class looks forward to more than Christmas and New Year's combined: the end of the year bonus. This is sometimes given right before Christmas and aptly named the Christmas bonus, but it is really something companies do because it's the end of the year. For extremely low paying jobs the bonuses are not even checks. I have received a turkey, a dart board, and a number of Hickory Farms packages in lieu of money at the end of the year. This not to say non-money gifts are worthless or less appreciated, and in fact there is an advantage to non-cash bonuses. The downside to cash bonuses is that the government taxes them more than the regular paying rate.

It's not that I dislike paying taxes. I understand that the money goes to various aspects of making this country run smoothly. Sure, there's waste, but there are also a lot of nice paved roads around the country as well. My problem is not with taxes themselves, but rather why they tax bonuses and overtime more than regular wages. Taxing bonuses heavily may have some legitimate reason several lawyers are salivating to tell me, but it just doesn't seem right.

Every time a person works overtime, holidays, or gets a bonus, the government takes more out of the check. The government, which is always closed on holidays, seems to think that the individuals who work extra are not entitled to the same percentage of taxes as those who work less. The truth is that many of the people who work holidays and overtime don't really want to work that much, but for some reason or another, they are obligated to do so.

I assume that the government's thinking on bonuses is that the workers didn't actually earn them, so it doesn't matter if they tax them more. There may be many people who rely on end of the year bonuses, but I'm not one of those people. I think any kind of bonus is a gift, and it is appreciated. Somewhere along the way, the government felt it should get a nice chunk of bonuses, and if it were the same percentage as regular pay, I would have very little gruff with it. Someone, however, needs to explain to me why the government feels the need to take a larger percentage of something that was a gift in the first place.

As I sit and look at my check, there is a space for regular working hours, and a space for overtime hours. This is so the government will have an easier time of taking out more money for overtime. One thing that the government needs to understand is that most of the employees in this country are not work-a-holics. Working over forty hours a week is not something they enjoy doing, and they do it when the business is in a crunch or needs extra man hours. As a reward (or bonus), these employees get time and a half or double time. That is a gift in a sense, but it should not be taxed more than regular working hours.

Work can be unhealthy if done in extreme doses. Extra money and bonuses are ways a company shows appreciation for giving up a little bit of their sanity in the name of keeping the business running. The government should show the same respect.

I understand that there are several big corporations where CEOs get massive bonuses for doing their job, but I don't happen to know any of those people. I know the people who get a fifty dollar check and a pat on the back at the end of the year. And there's not much more deflating than seeing a fifty dollar bonus become thirty-five dollars after taxes. It kind of takes the joy out of the gift.

Do I have an answer to the tax boost on bonuses, overtime, and holiday pay? Do I have a solution which will satisfy both the working class and the wealthy in this country? Do I have the Christmas miracle that everyone hopes I do? Sorry folks, I have to go to work. All I can tell you is that substituting bonuses with Hickory Farms probably isn't the answer.

Chris Jungle prays to the four headed goddess who believes there should only be a thirty-five hour work week.

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