It's an income tax. You pay the same rate no matter where your income comes from. There's no higher income tax for self-employed. You will have to pay the employer portion of FICA taxes, though. That's about 15.1%. If you're getting 30% deducted from your check you're withholding too much. The biggest sign that you're withholding too much is getting a refund when you file your taxes. Correcting people's misinformation isn't defending. If you post on here that the sun rises in the west and I correct you, I'm not defending sunrises.