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> Colin Robertson wonders why he pays federal taxes on the $18,000 a year he makes cleaning carpets, while the tech giant Amazon got a tax rebate.

Who cares about what Colin Robertson thinks?

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synecdoche: a figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole (such as fifty sail for fifty ships), the whole for a part (such as society for high society), the species for the genus (such as cutthroat for assassin), the genus for the species (such as a creature for a man), or the name of the material for the thing made (such as boards for stage)

There's also no way that he doesn't get a massive refund at the end of the year based on his salary.

Yes, if he's married filing jointly the standard deduction is $24k. Meaning he pays zero taxes. If he's unmarried his standard deduction is still most of his salary (~$12k), and the remaining amount would fall into the 10% tax bracket. But he would qualify for tax credits with income that low. Also very likely social services and safety nets. His effective income tax rate should be negative.

Reading these comments, it's apparent most people have no idea how this shit works. I thought here of all places, I wouldn't see people falling into the "I don't understand how progressive tax brackets work" trap.

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