Would a social security tax expenditure budget make sense?

This article considers whether or not a social security payroll tax expenditure budget would make sense. It suggests that the ideal payroll tax structure for use in measuring social security payroll tax expenditures would be a flat-rate tax on total compensation up to the pertinent earnings cap. Thus, for example, the ideal old-age and survivors insurance (OASI) payroll tax rates would be 5.6% on employees and employers and 11.2% on self-employed workers, and the ideal tax structure for use in developing a 1992 OASI tax expendigure budget would be an OASI tax of 11.2% of total compensation up to the $55,500 OASI earnings cap. This article also outlines the other essential features of a social security payroll tax expenditure budget. In that regard, perhaps the most significant category of social security payroll tax expenditures would be for employer-provided fringe benefits. Also of note, estimation of social security payroll tax expenditures for the self-employed and for owner-employees of closely-held corporations would be especially difficult.