Results 1 to 17 of 17

Thread: April 16th thread - what's on deck for future US taxes

  1. #1
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2002
    Location
    way south of the border
    Posts
    25,932
    Thanks
    612
    Thanked 10,563 Times in 4,646 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default April 16th thread - what's on deck for future US taxes

    (snip)"In the early years of the Great Depression, the U.S. government spent extravagantly without anyone paying the bill - just like today. Naturally, this situation could not last forever then, and it will not last forever now. Someone will have to pay the piper, and it won't be the bottom 50 percent of the population.

    With the Bush tax cuts expiring this year, income taxes will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent for the top bracket. Though less likely, the expiration also threatens to raise capital gains taxes to 20 percent, with increased dividend taxes following suit. Next there are the new health care bill taxes, which will require an additional 16,000 IRS agents to enforce. Further, cap-and-trade won't make life any easier.

    On the horizon, the outlook is even darker with the proposition of value-added taxes (VAT). VAT works like a backdoor sales tax. Essentially, every time a producer of goods purchases raw materials, he must pay a percentage tax. When the producer sells his goods to a wholesaler, the wholesaler pays another percentage.

    It sounds bad already, but here's the worst part. Each company down the supply chain gets a tax discount based on the next company's tax payment. Through this method, every firm in the chain has an incentive to make sure that the next one pays the full amount. If they don't, then your company is left holding the bag.

    In other words, the VAT makes every businessman an agent of the IRS. In the end, the higher cost of goods is passed down to consumers. However, unlike sales taxes, consumers will never see the bill directly on their receipts. This makes VAT far more politically efficient and insidious.

    At this point, high taxes are the only way out of the long-term debt crisis - unless the Federal Reserve wants to see double-digit inflation. Mild Clinton-era taxes expected by most won't solve the problem. A 4 percent income tax hike is not going to repay trillions of dollars in debt. Betting on the bull market isn't a good plan either. America would need decades of unprecedented growth to escape unharmed. The U.S. needs more than a bull market - it needs a miracle.

    If taxes are hiked to the stratosphere, a market recovery will do little for the wealthy. The fruits of a bull market will be difficult to enjoy with exorbitant taxes. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and be taxed on 80 percent of it? Even if market conditions become more favorable, the tax environment will drastically change soon."(snip)

    from


    US Senate Climate Bill To be Unveiled April 26th



    (snip)"Kerry, Lieberman and Graham have been working for months on a global warming compromise significantly different from a measure passed last year by the House of Representatives and a bill approved by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. It also takes many elements from those bills.

    Like the House-passed bill and Obama administration policy, it would set a target of 17 percent reductions in smokestack emissions of carbon dioxide by 2020, from 2005 levels.

    Point Carbon, an energy markets consulting service, estimated the anticipated Senate bill would result in U.S. gasoline prices rising an average of 27 cents a gallon from 2013 to 2020. The bill is expected to contain a fee on motor fuels."(snip)


    As pointed out in both snippets, raising taxes that people 'don't see' is becoming far more expedient than raising taxes that people can see directly.

  2. #2
    God/dess threlayer's Avatar
    Joined
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Syracuse
    Posts
    5,921
    Thanks
    369
    Thanked 419 Times in 290 Posts
    My Mood
    Fine

    Default Re: April 16th thread - what's on deck for future US taxes

    simplified and yet expanded answer :

    more of the same, except even more taxes, more forms, more complexity, and more outlay for you tax accountant, Tax Cut and TurboTax.
    I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.

    Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.

    NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.

  3. #3
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2002
    Location
    way south of the border
    Posts
    25,932
    Thanks
    612
    Thanked 10,563 Times in 4,646 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: April 16th thread - what's on deck for future US taxes

    here's a breakdown of US federal spending in 2010 ...

    (snip)"Washington will spend $31,406 per household in 2010 — the highest level in American history (adjusted for inflation). It will collect $18,276 per household in taxes. The remaining $13,130 represents this year's staggering budget deficit per household, which, along with all prior government debt, will be dumped in the laps of our children.

    Government spending has increased by $5,000 per household since 2008, and nearly $10,000 per household over the past decade. Yet there is no free lunch: If spending is not reined in, then eventually taxes must also rise by $10,000 per household.

    Washington will spend this $31,406 per household as follows:

    Social Security/Medicare: $9,949. The 15.3 percent payroll tax, split evenly between the employer and employee, covers most of these costs. This system can remain sustainable only if there are enough workers to support all retirees, which is why it risks collapsing under the weight of 77 million retiring baby boomers. Unless these programs are reformed, paying all promised benefits would eventually require doubling all income tax rates.

    Defense: $6,071. The defense budget covers everything from military paychecks to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan to the research, development and acquisition of new technologies and equipment. Lawmakers drastically reduced military spending after the collapse of communism in the early 1990s. The 9/11 attacks reversed this trend, and the inflation-adjusted $2,472 per household increase since 2000 has returned military spending closer to its historical levels (but still lower than during previous wars).

    Anti-poverty programs: $5,466. Nearly half of this spending subsidizes state Medicaid programs that provide health services to poor families. Other low-income spending includes: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, food stamps, housing subsidies, child-care subsidies, Supplemental Security Income and low-income tax credits. President George W. Bush increased anti-poverty spending to record levels, and it has grown an additional 32 percent since the end of 2008 under President Barack Obama.

    Unemployment benefits: $1,640. Unemployment costs have surged by 411 percent during the recession.

    Interest on the federal debt: $1,585. The federal government is $13 trillion in debt. It owes $9 trillion to public bond owners, and the rest to other federal agencies (mostly to repay the Social Security trust fund, which lawmakers raided annually before the program went into deficit in 2010). Record-low interest rates have recently held down these costs. However, the national debt is set to double by 2020, which will combine with higher interest rates to raise annual interest costs to nearly $6,000 per household.

    Veterans' benefits: $1,052. The federal government provides income and health benefits to war veterans. Spending is up 83 percent since 2000.

    Federal employee retirement benefits: $1,018. This spending funds the retirement and disability benefits of federal employees, including the military.

    Education: $914. Education spending is primarily a state and local function; 9 percent of the total comes from Washington. The federal education budget has leaped 125 percent since 2000. Most federal dollars are spent on low-income school districts, special education and college student financial aid.

    Highways/mass transit: $613. Most highway and mass-transit spending is financed by the 18.4 cent per-gallon federal gas tax. Washington subtracts an administrative cost and sends this money back to the states with numerous strings attached.

    Health research/regulation: $550. This spending is up 50 percent since 2001, and much of this growth is concentrated in the National Institute of Health. The category also includes the Food and Drug Administration and dozens of grant programs for health providers.

    Mortgage Credit: $470. While most of the bank bailouts occurred last year, the bailouts of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the rest of the housing market continue.

    The programs listed above cover $29,328 per household. The remaining $2,078 is allocated to all other federal programs, including justice, international affairs, natural resources, the environment, regional development, farm subsidies, social services, space exploration, air transportation and energy."(snip)

    from

    The obvious take-away is the $31,000 per household level of federal spending. For this to ever 'balance' it requires an average of $31,000 in federal taxes be collected annually from every household in America.

  4. #4
    God/dess threlayer's Avatar
    Joined
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Syracuse
    Posts
    5,921
    Thanks
    369
    Thanked 419 Times in 290 Posts
    My Mood
    Fine

    Default Re: April 16th thread - what's on deck for future US taxes

    You buried foreign aid and most all of government employee salaries/overhead expense.
    I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.

    Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.

    NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.

  5. #5
    God/dess Zofia's Avatar
    Joined
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Durham, North Carolina
    Posts
    2,417
    Thanks
    2,964
    Thanked 2,370 Times in 934 Posts

    Default Re: April 16th thread - what's on deck for future US taxes

    I have been a Republican for all my life. In general, I think the GOP has the better economic policy positions. But, I have been looking at what Obama and Bush spent and where it looks like our debt is going. Further, I have been looking at what we are going to have to do once this recession ends, as it surely ending. And I have come to the conclusion that we need to raise taxes.

    Not like you think though. I have seen enough economic and tax analysis to conclude that somewhere between 40% and 47% of Americans do not pay any federal taxes beyond Social Security and medicare. (Social Security and medicare are government insurance programs, and not really for the common good, but insurance for older people.) I think that the 40% to 47% of the people who are not paying taxes have to be brought into the system. Right now, they don't have any skin in the game, yet they have an enormous say through their vote. It is time to impose an alternative minimum tax that assures that everyone pays in something beyond Social Security and medicare. Because what we have is a situation where a small majority of the people who earn most of the money are forced to pay for all the government's expenditures, including welfare programs and defense for those who pay nothing. Let's be clear, I'm not for a regressive taxation system. I want the system to be progressive. I recognize that I can pay more dollars and a larger percent of my income than those who have nothing. But, I want those who earn something to join me in paying for our government.

    Z

  6. #6
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2002
    Location
    way south of the border
    Posts
    25,932
    Thanks
    612
    Thanked 10,563 Times in 4,646 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: April 16th thread - what's on deck for future US taxes

    In the 'oh, by the way' category, I happened to stumble on this little tidbit ...



    (snip)""I've applied at several places. No luck," said Hinojosa, one of the 4,700 workers laid off by the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc (NUMMI) auto plant. "I'd hate to move my son from a private school but I'd like to keep my house."

    Hinojosa's financial worries are being felt across the state, and are adding to an already massive debt California owes the U.S. government.

    The Golden State has borrowed $8.8 billion so far to cover jobless benefits during a recession where the national unemployment rate crested above 10 percent. It is not alone. More than 30 states have had to take out similar, albeit smaller, federal loans to keep their unemployment benefit systems afloat.

    Their combined debt tops $40 billion and the U.S. Labor Department expects 40 states to be in debt to the federal government by year's end, underscoring the labor market's problems in the deepest recession since World War Two.

    To give cash-strapped states a break, the federal economic stimulus program enacted last year suspended interest on the loans to states for two years. Without an extension, interest payments resume next year and Washington could raise payroll taxes on employers in delinquent states if loan balances remain outstanding.

    State leaders fear that would derail a jobs recovery which they need so employers replenish bare state coffers and enable states to repay the unemployment loans."(snip)

    (snip)"By 2012 employers in 25 states, including California, New York and Texas, could face rising federal payroll taxes if unemployment loans remain outstanding, which analysts expect they will, said Rich Hobbie, executive director of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies.

    "They can't completely solve their problems in the near term," Hobbie said. "If we have eight years of sustained growth as we had back in the 1980s then the states have a shot of repaying their loans."

    California officials aren't betting on a quick economic miracle to help them repay their debt. In fact, they expect the state to go deeper into debt to continue paying unemployment benefits. They forecast that debt to top $18 billion by year's end and $27 billion by the end of next year."(snip)


    In a nutshell, lots of states have not only exhausted their own ( employer unemployment insurance premium funded ) financial reserves for covering unemployment checks, but have turned to the federal gov't to borrow billions more ( which has already been spend on said unemployment checks ), and will need to continue to do so in the future ( well, as long as unemployment checks keep being sent out and aren't reduced in size, at any rate ). However, the federal gov't is already empowered to begin 'clawing back' this borrowed money in 2012 by direct increases of federal taxes on employers if ( more like when ) the states fail to repay the fed unemployment fund loans. And ironically, under current law, these state specific federal tax increases will fall disproportionately on businesses in states where economies are struggling the most i.e. those with the highest levels of unemployment thus the largest state unemployment fund borrowings from the feds.

  7. #7
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2002
    Location
    way south of the border
    Posts
    25,932
    Thanks
    612
    Thanked 10,563 Times in 4,646 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: April 16th thread - what's on deck for future US taxes

    I think that the 40% to 47% of the people who are not paying taxes have to be brought into the system. Right now, they don't have any skin in the game, yet they have an enormous say through their vote. It is time to impose an alternative minimum tax that assures that everyone pays in something beyond Social Security and medicare. Because what we have is a situation where a small majority of the people who earn most of the money are forced to pay for all the government's expenditures, including welfare programs and defense for those who pay nothing
    a few technical corrections. The 47% figure refers to 47% of federal income tax filers either paying zero income taxes or receiving more federal dollars back in the form of refundable tax credit refunds than they had withheld in the first place. But a significant number of Americans are not required to file tax returns ... from social welfare benefit recipients to college students. Thus in terms of registered voters, already more than a 51% majority not only have zero personal 'skin in the game' re increased income tax rates, but are in a position to personally benefit by voting to increase income taxes on the less than 49% minority of actual income tax payers in order to see their own gov't benefits continued and/or increased !

    This fact is already being recognized and planned for ... with obvious early examples being the relocation of a significant number of upper middle class earners previously living in high tax rate states like California and New Jersey to low tax rate adjacent states like Nevada or Delaware. See the 'What do we do when the rich start to leave' thread re the next likely level of action i.e. switching country of residence versus state of residence to avoid a potentially never-ending wave of future tax rate increases.

  8. #8
    God/dess threlayer's Avatar
    Joined
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Syracuse
    Posts
    5,921
    Thanks
    369
    Thanked 419 Times in 290 Posts
    My Mood
    Fine

    Default Re: April 16th thread - what's on deck for future US taxes

    Does anyone have a breakdown of those not paying federal income tax? Say in terms of a couple of classes of welfare, SS recipients, adult students, ex-patriot US citizens, rich people not having earned incomes (living on dividends/interest), etc?

    When you (both) say "skin in the game" I think of many people paying taxes and just internally and passively complaining, but willing to live with an inevitable tax system not under their control. They may be losing "skin" but they're not really in the game.

    I've always been an independent, but I'm a conservative in personal finance matters. But I recognize that the greater good involves spending/investing our treasure in areas important to our future. To me quality of life does not directly involve mainly money, as I have a good but frugal life, nor am I self-centered and stingy with my own resources. I have a sense of shared resonsibility for things affecting others around me. What I hate to see is people spending money on pretty far-out frills that harm the environment or engaging in activities that harm other people. I don't take any more resources from people or our environment than what is necessary and minimally obtrusive IMO. What that makes me politically, I dunno, but I am comfortable in my own "skin." That is my perspective.

    So.... many people have lost their incomes, not thru their faults, but thru business and government ineptitude. I do not see how it is justified to make them suffer excessively for living in a system in which the excessively rich are trying to gain control over every resource they can possibly dominate. We had huge businesses play folly with resources they were incompetent to handle and a governmental ovewrsight system which was dumbed down by an inept administration, while these now unemployed were going about their lives being more competent than any of the forces trying to overpower them.

    And now you are discussing how much of a problem it is for the inept government to find a way to compensate the people so hurt by its own incompetence. Do these people not deserve something or should we just acidify their bodies and pour them down the drain?
    I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.

    Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.

    NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.

  9. #9
    God/dess threlayer's Avatar
    Joined
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Syracuse
    Posts
    5,921
    Thanks
    369
    Thanked 419 Times in 290 Posts
    My Mood
    Fine

    Default Re: April 16th thread - what's on deck for future US taxes

    In a real sense by electing an incompetent administration TWO TIMES and not expecting incompetence in a wide range of areas, perhaps we all, as the electorate, deserve to pay the piper. In any case those put out of work by others' ineptitude shpould not bear the burden alone. That's a truly shameful attitude!
    I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.

    Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.

    NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.

  10. #10
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2002
    Location
    way south of the border
    Posts
    25,932
    Thanks
    612
    Thanked 10,563 Times in 4,646 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: April 16th thread - what's on deck for future US taxes

    Does anyone have a breakdown of those not paying federal income tax? Say in terms of a couple of classes of welfare, SS recipients, adult students, ex-patriot US citizens, rich people not having earned incomes (living on dividends/interest), etc?
    unfortunately, nothing comprehensive is available. There are good statistics on those Americans who filed tax returns but paid no income tax ( or receiving a larger tax credit based refund than they had withheld in the first place i.e. receiving a gov't subsidy via the IRS).

    (snip)"Last year, Obama signed the economic recovery law that expanded some tax credits and created others. Most targeted low- and middle-income families.

    Obama's Making Work Pay credit provides as much as $800 to couples and $400 to individuals. The expanded child tax credit provides $1,000 for each child under 17. The Earned Income Tax Credit provides up to $5,657 to low-income families with at least three children.

    There are also tax credits for college expenses, buying a new home and upgrading an existing home with energy-efficient doors, windows, furnaces and other appliances. Many of the credits are refundable, meaning if the credits exceed the amount of income taxes owed, the taxpayer gets a payment from the government for the difference.

    "All these things are ways the government says, if you do this, we'll reduce your tax bill by some amount," said Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center.

    The government could provide the same benefits through spending programs, with the same effect on the federal budget, Williams said. But it sounds better for politicians to say they cut taxes rather than they started a new spending program, he added.

    Obama has pushed tax cuts for low- and middle-income families and tax increases for the wealthy, arguing that wealthier taxpayers fared well in the past decade, so it's time to pay up. The nation's wealthiest taxpayers did get big tax breaks under Bush, with the top marginal tax rate reduced from 39.6 percent to 35 percent, and the second-highest rate reduced from 36 percent to 33 percent.

    But income tax rates were lowered at every income level. The changes made it relatively easy for families of four making $50,000 to eliminate their income tax liability.

    Here's how they did it, according to Deloitte Tax:

    The family was entitled to a standard deduction of $11,400 and four personal exemptions of $3,650 apiece, leaving a taxable income of $24,000. The federal income tax on $24,000 is $2,769.

    With two children younger than 17, the family qualified for two $1,000 child tax credits. Its Making Work Pay credit was $800 because the parents were married filing jointly.

    The $2,800 in credits exceeds the $2,769 in taxes, so the family makes a $31 profit from the federal income tax. (snip)

    from


    Where non tax filers are concerned, there is undoubtedly a correlation to the published statistic that 12% of Americans are now being eligible for food stamp gov't assistance, because the eligibility criteria and the income threshold under which no federal income taxes are assessed go hand in hand.

    However, in regard to other categories of Americans who paid no income taxes, there aren't any statistics concerning the tax exempt and/or tax favored investment incomes of some 'rich' Americans, nor concerning retirees whose incomes ( including IRA withdrawls ) are strategically managed such that their reported incomes fall below the income threshold under which no federal income tax is assessed. Same goes for expatriate Americans whose incomes don't exceed the $91,500 foreign income exclusion threshold. However, there should be a clear distinction that the latter, who are not residing in America, are also not 'consuming' US gov't services at a level anywhere near that of 'rich' but tax exempt Americans, retired Americans, low income Americans etc. who do still live in the USA.


    When you (both) say "skin in the game" I think of many people paying taxes and just internally and passively complaining, but willing to live with an inevitable tax system not under their control. They may be losing "skin" but they're not really in the game.
    It is completely 'safe' to say that between Americans who don't need to file tax returns, and Americans who do file tax returns but wind up paying zero in income taxes, a 51%+ majority of Americans don't pay income taxes. It is also 'safe' to say that those same 51%+ of Americans now have the power at the voting booth to increase income tax rates on the 49%- minority of Americans who DO pay income taxes. So indeed there is truth in your assessment that it is American income tax PAYERS who are no longer really in the game.

    While not wanting to swing toward the political, it is an accurate statement that the Obama administration's Making Work Pay tax credit, increase in refundable child care tax credits, and various other new tax credits ( i.e. cash for clunkers, first time homebuyer ) have been instrumental in raising the number of American families in the $40-50k income range who no longer actually have to pay income taxes.
    Last edited by Melonie; 04-23-2010 at 09:13 PM.

  11. #11
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2002
    Location
    way south of the border
    Posts
    25,932
    Thanks
    612
    Thanked 10,563 Times in 4,646 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: April 16th thread - what's on deck for future US taxes

    and if all of the above aren't bad enough, here's a triple whammy of 'stealth' tax increases now being 'test flown' ...



    (snip)"In the CNBC interview, Obama said he was waiting for recommendations from a bipartisan fiscal advisory commission on ways to tackle the deficit and other problems.

    When asked if he could see a potential VAT in this nation, the president said: "I know that there's been a lot of talk around town lately about the value-added tax. That is something that has worked for some countries. It's something that would be novel for the United States."(snip)


    (snip)"The International Monetary Fund has proposed a set of broad taxes on the financial industry to guard against future crises, and the levies that would target "excess" profits and compensation as well as raise hundreds of billions of dollars in the United States alone.

    In the agency's most detailed statement yet about how banks and finance companies should pay to offset their risk of failure, IMF staff outlined a possible "financial stability contribution" that would be based on the threat that a firm's collapse would pose to the economy. The levy, the IMF said, should raise an equivalent of at least 2 percent of a country's economic output -- around $300 billion in the United States -- and set it aside to underwrite the costs of putting failed institutions out of business."(snip)


    (snip)" 15,000 Illinois Protesters Chant "Raise My Taxes"; Unions Getting More Aggressive and Obnoxious

    Public unions have one and one mission: to raise your taxes so they can keep feeding at the trough.

    I believe you have better uses for your money than throwing it at public unions who will use the money to lobby and protest for still more raises and benefits than those in the private sector will ever get. If you disagree, by all means vote for union sponsored candidates who will continue to ask for tax increases at your expense."(snip)

  12. #12
    God/dess threlayer's Avatar
    Joined
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Syracuse
    Posts
    5,921
    Thanks
    369
    Thanked 419 Times in 290 Posts
    My Mood
    Fine

    Default Re: April 16th thread - what's on deck for future US taxes

    Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center.

    The government could provide the same benefits through spending programs, with the same effect on the federal budget, Williams said. But it sounds better for politicians to say they cut taxes rather than they started a new spending program, he added.
    The reason it sounds better is because a tax refund puts money back into the hands of those having paid it, largely. While spending more merely increases the number of public works projects, which directly only benefits a very few, or into corporate profits which may only 'trickle down' to the fat cats running the operation. This is the difference between supporting an oligarchy and supporting a democracy. Of course what we have now in this society is a strange combination of an oligarchy (of huge corporations/government lackeys) and those receiving entitlements, some of whom are really entitled to very little due to their lack of contributing anything except more little entitlements.
    I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.

    Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.

    NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.

  13. #13
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2002
    Location
    way south of the border
    Posts
    25,932
    Thanks
    612
    Thanked 10,563 Times in 4,646 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: April 16th thread - what's on deck for future US taxes

    The reason it sounds better is because a tax refund puts money back into the hands of those having paid it, largely.
    Unfortunately, in the case of a significant number of Americans, thanks to new and/or increased refundable tax credits, the gov't via the IRS is paying them more money than they actually had withheld from paychecks. In that regard, such IRS checks cease to be 'tax refunds' of the tax filer's own money, and instead become 'social welfare benefit checks' paid for by other Americans who do actually pay income taxes.

  14. #14
    God/dess threlayer's Avatar
    Joined
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Syracuse
    Posts
    5,921
    Thanks
    369
    Thanked 419 Times in 290 Posts
    My Mood
    Fine

    Default Re: April 16th thread - what's on deck for future US taxes

    ^ True, but these "over-payments" are not large.
    I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.

    Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.

    NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.

  15. #15
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2002
    Location
    way south of the border
    Posts
    25,932
    Thanks
    612
    Thanked 10,563 Times in 4,646 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: April 16th thread - what's on deck for future US taxes

    ^^^ well, everything is relative I suppose ! However, a $1000 'overpayment' = IRS social welfare benefit check being paid out to 30 million US tax filers certainly adds up ! The basic point of course is that the US gov't has employed 'stealth' techniques to increase social welfare benefit payments via IRS refunds ... which conveniently avoided the necessity of congress having to specifically vote to raise social welfare benefits under the various existing social welfare programs.

  16. #16
    God/dess threlayer's Avatar
    Joined
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Syracuse
    Posts
    5,921
    Thanks
    369
    Thanked 419 Times in 290 Posts
    My Mood
    Fine

    Default Re: April 16th thread - what's on deck for future US taxes

    I thought it was more like $250 - $300
    I loved going to strip clubs; I actually made some friends there. Now things are different for the clubs and for me. As a result I am not as happy.

    Customers are not entitled to grope, disrespect, or rob strippers. This is their job, not their hobby, and they all need income. Clubs are not just some erotic show for guys to view while drinking.

    NOTE: anything I post here, outside of a direct quote, is my opinion only, which I am entitled to. Take it for what you estimate it is worth.

  17. #17
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2002
    Location
    way south of the border
    Posts
    25,932
    Thanks
    612
    Thanked 10,563 Times in 4,646 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: April 16th thread - what's on deck for future US taxes

    ^^^ the making work pay tax credit is $400 by itself. The earned income tax credit follows an inverse sliding scale versus income and maxxes at $457 with no qualifying children ( and jumps to $3043 with the first qualifying child ). Then there are the other tax credits for child care etc. So we're talking about a lot more than $2-300 where the bottom half of US tax filers is concerned.

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 17
    Last Post: 04-20-2010, 02:46 PM
  2. Future employment/employment records/taxes/ buying back contracts etc.
    By 0michelle.michelle0 in forum Stripping (was Stripping General)
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 08-17-2009, 01:45 AM
  3. Stripper Tarot Deck
    By davka in forum Stripping (was Stripping General)
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 11-02-2008, 03:28 PM
  4. Strange deck of cards
    By UtahMike in forum The Lounge
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 09-11-2008, 12:55 PM
  5. FORECAST FOR OCT 16TH: THIS IS LIKE THE EARLY 30s
    By Adelina in forum Dollar Den
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 10-08-2007, 09:04 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •