Final answer:
Sales tax is not considered a mandated deduction; it is a state-level tax paid at the time of purchase, unlike deductions such as Medicare, federal income, and Social Security taxes, which are withheld from paychecks by employers. Self-employed individuals are responsible for both the employee and employer portions of Social Security and Medicare taxes. Social Security tax is regressive as it is capped at a certain income level.
Step-by-step explanation:
The item that is not considered a mandated deduction from the options provided is sales tax. Mandated deductions typically include taxes that are withheld from an individual's paycheck by the employer. These deductions usually consist of Medicare tax, federal income tax, and Social Security tax, among others. These are mandatory because they are required by law and used to fund governmental programs like Social Security and Medicare.
Sales tax, on the other hand, is a tax on the purchase of goods and services and is not deducted from one's paycheck by an employer. It is a state-level tax that varies by location and is paid directly by consumers at the point of sale. Therefore, it is not a part of the list of deductions that come out of an individual's income through the payroll system.
For individuals who are self-employed, they are responsible for paying both the employee and employer portion of Social Security and Medicare taxes, also known as self-employment tax. The self-employment tax rate combines the usual 6.2% Social Security tax and 1.45% Medicare tax, for a total of 15.3% on the first $113,000 of income (as of the knowledge cutoff date).
The Social Security tax is a regressive tax because it is capped at a certain income level. Above that level, no Social Security tax is levied on additional income, which means higher-income earners pay a smaller percentage of their total income compared to lower-income earners.