Alan Johnson: Taxing for seniors

I am tired of the Republican lawmakers in Raleigh who keep bragging about how they lowered my taxes, when in reality they raised my taxes. I am a retired state employee living on a fixed income from state retirement and Social Security.

In the two years since they changed the tax code, my state income tax has increased over 10 percent while my federal tax decreased and my gross income remained the same. They removed the $4,000 adjustment for state retirees, which increased my taxable income much more than any reductions they made. Since I was already in the lowest tax bracket, changing the higher brackets did nothing for me.

In addition to raising my income tax, they added new taxes on previously tax-exempt services and purchases. The claim that they lowered my taxes is a “pants on fire” lie.

This story was originally published October 12, 2016 at 4:28 PM with the headline "Alan Johnson: Taxing for seniors."