Author Topic: Income Tax Day  (Read 2861 times)

Offline MRC

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Income Tax Day
« on: April 17, 2018, 04:41:33 PM »
I am retired and I live on my investments.  The stock market had a good year and I knew I was in trouble so I finally got mine figured on Saturday and it was worse than I thought.  I can't complain as when you make good money you must pay what you owe and I sent my checks off today.

I pay on quarterly estimates so I asked my accountant what the new tax law would do to me and I was told they had a program to estimate 2018 taxes.  If I do exactly the same this year as I did last year my taxes will go up approximately 25%.

I called my Broker to sell some securities to pay this years taxes and pay my first and second quarter estimates and told him about it.  He and I are in about the same income level and his tax increase will be about the same.

So much for Trump's tax cuts.

Offline MikeInTexas

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Re: Income Tax Day
« Reply #1 on: April 17, 2018, 05:19:53 PM »
Everyone I have talked to came up short this year.

No one is getting a refund, all this came as a surprise.

Offline dddonkey

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Re: Income Tax Day
« Reply #2 on: April 17, 2018, 05:21:03 PM »
Yep I owed federal this year, and my tax guy said if I keep everything the same I will owe even more next year.

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Offline DDGator

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Re: Income Tax Day
« Reply #4 on: April 17, 2018, 11:27:53 PM »

My tax accountant provided an analysis of what I would pay next year with the new tax changes.  He was projecting about a 5% savings.  We will see...

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Re: Income Tax Day
« Reply #5 on: April 17, 2018, 11:41:42 PM »
Every one is different but corporate rates, small businesses, and pass though businesses will have a reduced tax rate. If you have enjoyed an increase in your investments and you pay the same tax rate what is your problem? Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary. I don't think his shareholders are complaining.

Offline MRC

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Re: Income Tax Day
« Reply #6 on: April 18, 2018, 07:18:48 AM »
Every one is different but corporate rates, small businesses, and pass though businesses will have a reduced tax rate. If you have enjoyed an increase in your investments and you pay the same tax rate what is your problem? Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary. I don't think his shareholders are complaining.

I am not complaining about what I paid this year, you make it, you have to pay it.

As far as Buffet and his Secretary go, you have to look into that a little closer as I could not believe that.

Buffet's Secretary is paid in excess of $250K which puts her in a 35% bracket.

She is not your average "poor working girl".

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Re: Income Tax Day
« Reply #7 on: April 18, 2018, 09:49:07 AM »
Earned income is just a part of it. His vast unrealized capital gains with zero tax and dividends taxed at much lower rates than earned income for a lot of citizens was part of his reference, in my opinion.

Offline MRC

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Re: Income Tax Day
« Reply #8 on: April 18, 2018, 10:49:32 AM »
I have no problem with Buffet's tax rate.  I do not think that he even takes a salary but I could be wrong.

My problem was his using his Secretary as an example when she was earning the kind of money she does.

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Re: Income Tax Day
« Reply #9 on: April 18, 2018, 11:35:57 AM »
Not to belabor the point but I think he was saying that her wages are higher than his and taxed at a higher rate even though his income from sources like tax free municipals would be greater than hers. Implicit in his statement is that there should be a "wealth tax" that would address the vast difference in their holdings.

Offline MRC

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Re: Income Tax Day
« Reply #10 on: April 18, 2018, 11:55:53 AM »
I agree with most of that, but using his Secretary as an example when she makes as good a salary as a lot of small business men with 10 or so employees was misleading.

Buffet never proposed a wealth tax but he thought any income over $1,000,000 should be taxed at 30% or some number close to that.

France tried or proposed a wealth tax where you could be taxed on your net worth.  Everyone fled to Belgium.

A friend of mine lived in Detroit years ago when they levied a city income tax.  He said Detroit was starting to be a $hithole city at that time and anyone with any income fled to the suburbs quickly.  He said that was the start of Detroit's decline in his opinion.