Burger Urges Tax Relief for Senior Judges
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WASHINGTON — Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, anxious to keep retired federal judges on the bench part time, today urged Congress to act quickly to change a law that pinches judges’ retirement pay.
Burger called on the House and Senate to renew an exemption from Social Security taxes on the retirement pay of the nation’s 276 so-called senior judges who decide to continue working.
As the law now stands, he said, “These judges are actually being required to pay to work.”
Burger said the new tax bite for the judges ranges from $3,000 to $12,000 annually, “depending on a judge’s circumstances.”
The trouble started in 1983 when federal judges were brought under Social Security. Although Congress exempted senior judges from paying the employee’s share of Social Security tax, the exemption expired Dec. 31.
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