The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities states that three-quarters of taxpayers pay more in payroll taxes than they do in income taxes. The FICA tax is considered a regressive tax on income with no standard deduction or personal exemption deduction.It is imposed on only the first $113,700 of gross wages in 2013 and $117,000 in 2014. The tax is not imposed on investment income such as interest and dividends.or 2014, the employee's share of the Social Security portion of the FICA tax is 6.2% of gross compensation up to a limit of $117,000 of gross compensation (resulting in a maximum Social Security tax of $7,254).