From the standpoint of a CEO or board member of a company, you don't pay taxes, they do.
I am a CEO, and have been for the better part of 15 years. It has become clear over the past few days that most progressives don't really comprehend how CEOs and company owners understand payroll taxes and deductions. I am also a Liberal, so understand that I am trying to provide clarity on the other side's point of view, not to defend it.
Most of us take an employee's perspective. Lets say you are a full time employee, and you get your pay stub twice a month. You have gross earnings, and then the government takes its pieces and you are left with notably less than your salary.
You see that the government has taken some of the money you have earned, but being enlightened, you recognize that Social Security, Medicare, Parks, Police and the lot have to get paid for, and you understand that some of our money will get redistributed to those who need it.
But how does a CEO see it ... after the squiggle
As a CEO, I contract with a payroll company. My total payroll gets computed every pay cycle, and I have to transfer money from the cash accounts to cover it.
Like every company, we are obligated to pay Statutory Payroll Tax Deductions to the various entities like the IRS and the Social Security Administration. It is the law. Your employee can specify a level of deduction, but I am obligated to deduct, so my payroll processor figures out how much to deduct, and I get a report that shows how much was paid in payroll taxes (the part you pay), and how much of the payroll was deducted for SSDI, etc.
The key: I am transferring money ("writing checks") to the government before it even gets to you, my employee
From my perspective, you are not paying any taxes. It is coming out of my money, and I am paying it. You pay Property Tax, and Sales Tax, and motor vehicle fees, but I pay the IRS and Social Security.
When you understand this, you start to feel how twisted your perspective can be as a business owner. You feel like you have to pay for the government, because all of the money seems to come from you. That it is really a payroll deduction doesn't even enter your head.
As such, every last one of you wage-slaves and middle managers are sucking off the teat of my money (snark) - because I pay your taxes, and you don't.
Get the point?
Mitt's 47% isn't just welfare, combat vets, retirees, and the poor. It is you.
As for me, evidently I am the 52% ...