Tax reform

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RickyZ

Senior Member
Sep 20, 2012
9,635
787
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#21
It would probably get you twice as far as someone earning 50K a year. Three times as far as someone earning 33K annually.
This is about TAXES. How did people in the United States fare under the new tax plan. Did you pay more or less?

Jatdq!
 

tourist

Senior Member
Mar 13, 2014
42,655
17,111
113
69
Tennessee
#22
This is about TAXES. How did people in the United States fare under the new tax plan. Did you pay more or less?

Jatdq!
Probably broke even or paid a little less. I am quite sure that overall the tax cut benefitted the wealthy more the those who must get by on less. The tax plan did dramatically reduce the effective tax rate of various corporations that provide the jobs and the wages so it was not altogether a bad thing and the overall effect was positive for the economy in general.
 

RickyZ

Senior Member
Sep 20, 2012
9,635
787
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#23
Probably broke even or paid a little less. I am quite sure that overall the tax cut benefitted the wealthy more the those who must get by on less. The tax plan did dramatically reduce the effective tax rate of various corporations that provide the jobs and the wages so it was not altogether a bad thing and the overall effect was positive for the economy in general.
According to the news (which is always suspect), the majority of large corporations spent their savings on stock buybacks, not jobs and benefits.
 

RickyZ

Senior Member
Sep 20, 2012
9,635
787
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#24
Another news story says in California, the majority are about breaking even, followed by those who are paying more, and then the smallest group are paying less.

Where's all the trump supporters? I would think they would be here in droves saying how their boy saved them money on their taxes. Are we to believe they did not save money?
 

RickyZ

Senior Member
Sep 20, 2012
9,635
787
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#25
My uncle, who prepares taxes in Minnesota, says most of his clients were helped a little bit by the tax code changes. These are primarily soybean and corn farm operations, many that were impacted by the Chinese retaliation against Trump's tariffs.
 

RickyZ

Senior Member
Sep 20, 2012
9,635
787
113
#26
I have to say I am very surprised by the lack of response here. I figure it has to be:

1. The completely erroneous thought that I lust after other people's money (which anyone who reads with the intent to hear and not to respond will know is wholly false); or

2. Trumpsters are ashamed to step up and say their boy cost them more taxes.
 

shittim

Senior Member
Dec 16, 2016
13,922
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#27
I did great under the new tax laws G-d's man at 1600 Penn. Ave, helped Americans receive, haven't heard of hardly any otherwise.
 

PennEd

Senior Member
Apr 22, 2013
13,612
9,127
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#28
According to the news (which is always suspect), the majority of large corporations spent their savings on stock buybacks, not jobs and benefits.
Yeah!! They didn't provide any jobs at all! LOL

Not to mention wages going up:

Initial Jobless Claims Tumble To Fresh 50 Year Lows

by Tyler Durden
Thu, 04/18/2019 - 08:39
68
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Initial jobless claims keep grinding lower and lower.
The last time this few Americans sought the help of government after losing a job was in November 1969. Initial Jobless Claims tumbled another 5K from the prior week's revised 197K to just 192K: the second consecutive sub-200K print in 50 years, and the lowest print since September 1969.

The YTD change in the absolute number of claims is now the best since at least 2011.


While the number will probably not come as a big surprise in light of the recent sharp rebound in payrolls, the Fed will be hard pressed to explain why it is pausing its rate hikes at a time when the fewest number of Americans are filing for jobless benefits in half a century.
For some context, the last time claims were this low:
  • The Beatles' "Abbey Road" Album hit #1
  • Wendy's Hamburgers, American fast food restaurant chains founded by Dave Thomas opens in Columbus, Ohio
  • Alcatraz Island off SF, is seized by militant Native Americans
  • US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
  • USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
 

RickyZ

Senior Member
Sep 20, 2012
9,635
787
113
#29
I did great under the new tax laws G-d's man at 1600 Penn. Ave, helped Americans receive, haven't heard of hardly any otherwise.
Thank you, I'm glad it helped!
 

RickyZ

Senior Member
Sep 20, 2012
9,635
787
113
#30
Yeah!! They didn't provide any jobs at all! LOL

Not to mention wages going up:

Initial Jobless Claims Tumble To Fresh 50 Year Lows

by Tyler Durden
Thu, 04/18/2019 - 08:39
68
SHARES
TwitterFacebookRedditEmailPrint

Initial jobless claims keep grinding lower and lower.
The last time this few Americans sought the help of government after losing a job was in November 1969. Initial Jobless Claims tumbled another 5K from the prior week's revised 197K to just 192K: the second consecutive sub-200K print in 50 years, and the lowest print since September 1969.

The YTD change in the absolute number of claims is now the best since at least 2011.


While the number will probably not come as a big surprise in light of the recent sharp rebound in payrolls, the Fed will be hard pressed to explain why it is pausing its rate hikes at a time when the fewest number of Americans are filing for jobless benefits in half a century.
For some context, the last time claims were this low:
  • The Beatles' "Abbey Road" Album hit #1
  • Wendy's Hamburgers, American fast food restaurant chains founded by Dave Thomas opens in Columbus, Ohio
  • Alcatraz Island off SF, is seized by militant Native Americans
  • US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
  • USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
And that is encouraging to hear. I wish the statistic would exclude those who just stop looking. It's true that a growing labor shortage is leading to increasing pay and benefits too, which are waaay overdue. But the reports I'm seeing say most of the corporate bennies went to buybacks. But admittedly, I do get the LA times. Which is just as liberally biased as the conservative rags are conservative biased. LA Times/Dornsife poll last week reported the majority were the same or ahead a little bit as far as taxes go.

Like I said earlier, ours went up 800%. But to be honest I don't think we were paying our fare share before.
 
S

SpoonJuly

Guest
#31
Nothing has changed since I retired 7 years ago. Have not paid a cent in federal or state income tax.
Don't have an income large enough to pay taxes.
 

Mii

Well-known member
Mar 23, 2019
2,082
1,330
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#32
I got substantially more than I ever have before "on paper". My student loan debt entered repayment without any sort of communication from the DOE so my entire return was offset. Technically I did far worse but not because of the new tax laws ;)


I also had one of the seasonal jobs I worked at a few days into the new year (that was the cutoff point) I made $136 was claiming 1 and somehow I paid $10 in state tax and exactly .01 cents in federal taxes.

So I gave them a penny for my thoughts lol.
 

RickyZ

Senior Member
Sep 20, 2012
9,635
787
113
#33
Nothing has changed since I retired 7 years ago. Have not paid a cent in federal or state income tax.
Don't have an income large enough to pay taxes.
Now that's sad. But unfortunately all too common these days.
 
S

SpoonJuly

Guest
#34
Now that's sad. But unfortunately all too common these days.
Not sad at all. Just the way I planned it.
My income each year is just below the taxable amount.
I have no debt and live in an area that has a very low cost of living.
I have a reserve for unexpected cost.
If one can not live on $40,000 plus a year as a retired person, than that is very poor planning on their part.
 
S

SpoonJuly

Guest
#35
And that is encouraging to hear. I wish the statistic would exclude those who just stop looking. It's true that a growing labor shortage is leading to increasing pay and benefits too, which are waaay overdue. But the reports I'm seeing say most of the corporate bennies went to buybacks. But admittedly, I do get the LA times. Which is just as liberally biased as the conservative rags are conservative biased. LA Times/Dornsife poll last week reported the majority were the same or ahead a little bit as far as taxes go.

Like I said earlier, ours went up 800%. But to be honest I don't think we were paying our fare share before.
None of my business, but how much of that increase was because your income increased?
Maybe a higher tax bracket?
 

RickyZ

Senior Member
Sep 20, 2012
9,635
787
113
#36
Not sad at all. Just the way I planned it.
My income each year is just below the taxable amount.
I have no debt and live in an area that has a very low cost of living.
I have a reserve for unexpected cost.
If one can not live on $40,000 plus a year as a retired person, than that is very poor planning on their part.
Wow. I was going to mention my older brother, who too plans to earn below the taxable amount since paying taxes violates his tea-party roots!

But isn't that like cutting off your nose to spite your face?
 

RickyZ

Senior Member
Sep 20, 2012
9,635
787
113
#37
None of my business, but how much of that increase was because your income increased?
Maybe a higher tax bracket?
Being retired our income is mostly fixed. Some of that could be attributed to a smaller medical write-off (but not by much) and the $10,000 state and local tax deduction cap.
 
Feb 28, 2016
11,311
2,974
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#38
there are many whose yearly income is below taxable income, not of pre-planning -
and they are living Biblically correct, by owing no man, and being good stewards'...

many years ago we both worked very hard at becoming 'debt-free', when we
reached our goal, it was one of the happiest days of our lives, and we are
still reaping this wonderful blessing,
Praise God...

PRO. 22:7.
The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
 

RickyZ

Senior Member
Sep 20, 2012
9,635
787
113
#39
there are many whose yearly income is below taxable income, not of pre-planning -
and they are living Biblically correct, by owing no man, and being good stewards'...

many years ago we both worked very hard at becoming 'debt-free', when we
reached our goal, it was one of the happiest days of our lives, and we are
still reaping this wonderful blessing,
Praise God...

PRO. 22:7.
The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
Unfortunately those are the minority, and that is sad. Like I said, we just break 6 figures, and if you live within your Biblical means that does not get you very far these days. I applaud those who do live Biblically, and just cringe to think of how many are struggling to get by on less ... I don't see how it can be done without embracing poverty, debt, and or bankruptcy. Not to mention ill health. We are blessed, and keep a modest bank account, and invest in jobs by responsible consumerism. Because, as we all (should) know, rich people don't create jobs, consumers do.
 
S

SpoonJuly

Guest
#40
Wow. I was going to mention my older brother, who too plans to earn below the taxable amount since paying taxes violates his tea-party roots!

But isn't that like cutting off your nose to spite your face?
Guess it is all in how you look at it.
Since retiring, we have taken the standard deduction because that works best for us.
With the big increase in the standard deduction this year, we were able to increase our income and still pay no taxes.
Our only expenses are property tax and insurance and living in Arkansas that is less than $8000 a year.
If the day comes where I need more income, it is available. Planned it that way.