My most recent tax bill was ...
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always zero (Score:5, Funny)
Re:always zero (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:always zero (Score:5, Insightful)
How can you evade taxes when your country's tax rate is zero?
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fill out a detailed and lengthy series of forms, do the math, and end up with 0 invariably?
Re:Not so fast (Score:4, Insightful)
History doesn't show that.
When a country is getting short on money, they tend to use what is left to pay the military to take what they need.
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You know what is the beauty with education cutbacks? They won't know what they are missing :-)
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Re:always zero (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, well, the Cayman's are a great place to live and you have zero tax, but there's not actually all that much tech work with a decent salary to be had there and you're likely to run out of beer money sooner than you might think. That's the problem with the expat zero-tax life; most of the zero tax states either don't have the kind of employment you'd want, or are pretty crappy places to live because of some combination of local politics, climate and social setup.
Sir you have completely missed the point of living in a place like the Caymans, Philippines or Thailand.
You don't live there because you have to work there, you live there because you can afford to do so without working. At worst you own a business but that is hit and miss. Most people live of investments in more secure countries or from pensions, a lot of retired American servicemen that live off of military pensions in the Philippines.
If I had A$50K p/a of income from sources outside of employment, I'd live there.
Not necessarily (Score:5, Informative)
Since I was making minimum wage, and not able to save anything, I was effectively taxed 22% to 25%. The tax haven aspect only works for those who can either afford the extremely expensive living costs, or those who just hide money there.
I'm always happy when I have a tax liability (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:I'm always happy when I have a tax liability (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I'm always happy when I have a tax liability (Score:5, Insightful)
To be fair, most Americans wouldn't accrue interest with that extra money. They'd blow it on surviving.
FTFY.
Re:I'm always happy when I have a tax liability (Score:5, Insightful)
As one of the poor people blowing most of my income on surviving, I second GPP's original assertion of "stupid shit".
Despite making less than most of my working peers, I somehow seem to be the only one of my peers that is financially solvent, because I live within my means; when my means go down, my quality of life goes down (and it's been way down at times), but I still keep my head above water.
I am constantly amazed at how people who make significantly more money than me can be so deep in the hole. What the hell are they spending all that cash on? Partying and expensive toys, as best as I can tell.
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As one of the poor people blowing most of my income on surviving, I second GPP's original assertion of "stupid shit".
I am constantly amazed at how people who make significantly more money than me can be so deep in the hole. What the hell are they spending all that cash on? Partying and expensive toys, as best as I can tell.
It's not that they spend it on "stupid shit". I have a lot of "stupid shit" like big screen TV's, phones, cameras, tablets, computers et al. and there are a lot of Australians who earn twice what I do and are constantly "in the hole" as you say. What's the big difference? I bought all of my shit with my own money, they borrowed. Credit always costs more, always. The credit provider always has to take a chunk, that percentage in Australia can be up to 25% of the purchase price and there are a lot of stupid p
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Borrowing to consume, treating credit as cash is bad.
With credit, you're paying with other people money and the thing about using other peoples money is that those people will want it back.
Re:I'm always happy when I have a tax liability (Score:5, Interesting)
As one of the poor people blowing most of my income on surviving, I second GPP's original assertion of "stupid shit".
Despite making less than most of my working peers, I somehow seem to be the only one of my peers that is financially solvent, because I live within my means; when my means go down, my quality of life goes down (and it's been way down at times), but I still keep my head above water.
I am constantly amazed at how people who make significantly more money than me can be so deep in the hole. What the hell are they spending all that cash on? Partying and expensive toys, as best as I can tell.
I used to work for a very reasonable salary. I considered myself to be rich, yet the other entry-level people working for a similar salary were acting like they were starving college students still. It was really odd.
Unfortunately, I managed to get myself in a bit of trouble... I still managed to pay all of my bills for about a year and a half to two years after losing my salary, but eventually I was crushed by the weight of the debts that I owed... most of those were accrued retardedly from following my dad's advice though... after my parents divorce, they sold off the house, and paid off all of their debts. My mom replaced her car (she had a lot of difficulty with the mustang my dad left her with), but other than that, is debt free... meanwhile, my dad managed to rack up enough debt to fill up to his eyeballs within a very short period...
I wish my mom had had more of a guiding impact on my life than my dad has... tell you what though, she does now.
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It bugs me when poor/broke people buy stuff they don't need like an iPad, new big screen TV, watch movies in theaters, etc. How about saving money for more urgent stuff?
Re:I'm always happy when I have a tax liability (Score:4, Insightful)
Agreed.
And credit makes it worse. I get that life sometimes screws you.. your car breaks down, medical bills, etc.. there are sad but valid reasons why a person ends up in debt. Seeing people go into debt buying as you said, shit they don't need, bugs me as well.
Some people almost need someone regulating their spending. "I know you want that new laptop, but you can't afford it right now. Yes, Jenny bought one, but she makes more money than you do. Don't make that face at me!" Problem is.. the people who should do it if anyone (the government) are the worst example!
Re:I'm always happy when I have a tax liability (Score:4, Insightful)
A TV is a good investment for poor people as it's the cheapest form of entertainment. People need luxuries, if they're to do nothing other than eat, shit and work, then there's no point even being alive.
At the end of the day, it's the rich who push all this shit via advertisements, and who created the economic system which revolves almost entirely around the consumption of pointless shit, who then turn round and complain about poor people buying the things they've been telling them to buy.
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That's true in my case. :(
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It's not $1000 you could be earning interest on--it's a $1000 plus whatever your "refund" would have been. You'd also have substantially more in your Roth if you put in $41.66 every two weeks, rather than $1000 at the end of the year.
I get that not caring about shit is all edgy and hipster. But, it's depressing to hear you're incapable of saving money on your own, too lazy to open a savings account, or just too damn uninspired to spend (or not!) your own earnings on anything other than the world's worst
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Even with a w4 you can manipulate your withholding easily. Take the amount you can owe without penalty, set up the proper number of exemptions on the w4, and then add in any additional withholding you need (if the number doesn't work out close enough, and you go past the penalty mark).
The number is only $1000 if you have to pay $10k or under in taxes. The real values $1000, or 10% of your total bill if that number is greater than $1000. Or, excepting those two, if you paid in at least your total tax cost
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I don't know your specific financial situation, but most people who think like you do have credit cards, mortgages and car loans at 22%, 5%, 12%, whatever.
If you take the money you didn't pay to the IRS and paid off some debt early so that you don't get charged interest on it, then you're making pretty good money on it. And you're guaranteed to make that percent on it with no risk.
Once you don't have any debt except maybe a mortgage (cheap money, even now), then you may be ready to risk invest in something
Re:I'm always happy when I have a tax liability (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah. It's not like any of us is gonna make much interest on our refund if we get to keep it like we ought to, but the IRS takes money from all those millions of people, and so the federal government does collectively make a fair slice on this yearly float.
On the one hand, it fries my gizzard emotionally, but when I consider it rationally, it's obvious tax rates would just be that little bit higher to make the same revenue, so it's really more a matter of honestly labelling how much you're shaking me down for than any actual harm.
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Yeah. It's not like any of us is gonna make much interest on our refund if we get to keep it like we ought to, but the IRS takes money from all those millions of people, and so the federal government does collectively make a fair slice on this yearly float.
On the one hand, it fries my gizzard emotionally, but when I consider it rationally, it's obvious tax rates would just be that little bit higher to make the same revenue, so it's really more a matter of honestly labelling how much you're shaking me down for than any actual harm.
Hah, you mean there would be slightly more red ink (maybe a percent or two) with a hyper-accurate system vs a withholding system that allows for deductions after the government holds on to the money for about 6 months? Sure, and on the other-other-other hand the IRS could just say "you owe exactly 15%" and not allow for any deductions of any kind, so at the end of the year your tax form is just a solemn reminder of exactly how much you earned that the government took (and was probably still not enough to b
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Although, when you take inflation and low interest rates (and tax on the interest) into account, you are probably still losing money.
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Mind sharing your bank's name? Because based on my research, interest is close to ~0.2% on savings (and that is without insane #s of fees at the bank). Even money markets like ING are very very low right now. So that extra $1000 you save would give you, oh $2.0 in interest over the year.
So your strategy sounds effectively pointless... unless you really need that $2, in which case my atheist prayers go out to you.
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The withholding tables are set up on purpose (Score:4, Insightful)
... to slightly over-withhold most people. Not because the Government needs the float. Consider the two possible outcomes when people fill out their tax return:
* You owe additional tax, so you go looking for additional deductions and expenses to reduce it
* You get a refund, breathe a sigh of relief, and stop looking
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this is a money that I have at my disposal throughout the year, to accrue interest or capital gains
i'm not familiar with the situation in the US, but here (.nl) it is a good thing to have the tax service owe you money. No bank pays as much interest as the tax service.
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Personally I only got money back because my bonus got over taxed. My husband got money back because he spent several months unemployed. The standard PAYE tax system in Australia doesn't adjust well for a variable income on a week by week basis, but catches up at year end.
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I try to owe as much as possible as well, but unfortunately that has still left me with a small refund the last few years.
In addition to the "interest free loan" aspect, if you get a refund it has to be claimed as income on the next years taxes. That's right ... they charge you for giving them a free loan! I don't understand how that isn't double taxation.
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I do this too. I live in Australia where things are a bit different than you describe...
1. Interest rates in standard savings accounts in banks are in the 5.5%-6.0% range. So having cash in the bank is actually going to be earning you a decent return compared to in the US.
2. There's no penalty for not paying your tax throughout the year (though you do have to jump through some withholding tax loopholes), provided you do actually end up paying it all at tax time when it's due. So I actually don't have any ta
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The $1,000 is one of the "safe-harbor" rules for avoiding penalty, there are a few other ways as well. (Only one of these need to apply for a taxpayer to be safe from penalties). The easiest one to use is probably paying 100% of last year's tax bill through tax withholding. Since most salaried folks will have their income rise slightly each year, they can just adjust withholding to just match their prior year taxbill by year-end, so that they can find themselves owing taxes each year, but never worrying abo
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Further, I am so spectacularly bad at investing that I'm better off earning no interest than trying to invest in any kind of security with a rate higher than half a percent. I don't think I've owned anything (securities, real estate, physical objects) that has ever appreciated in value.
Don't be down on yourself, this puts you into the average or slightly above-average investor category. Most individuals who invest with the aim of a short term high return end up losing more money in the end (especially in the past 10 years.) Considering most savings accounts without a minimum balance pay like .1%, you are not really behind with just letting the feds keep the money til the end of the year.
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If you pay 100% of the prior year's total tax bill, you're in the clear, and safe from penalties for underpayment. You can use that target to plan out the withholding amounts so that you don't end up with refunds so often.
(If your AGI is below $150k, ($75k), then you need to pay 110% of the prior year's total tax bill)
For details and other ways to avoid penalties for underpayments see: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p505/ch04.html [irs.gov]
With regards to investing, surveys conducted asking for the amount of savings
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I use this one, currently has 2.01% interest on checking accounts: http://www.providentnj.com/site/PersonalServices/Checking/ProvidentSmartChecking/Content.aspx [providentnj.com]
No monthly fees, no minimum balance, and they refund ATM fees incurred when you use the card at another bank's ATM.
Requirements:
1) Use the card 10 times a month. Not difficult at all to use a card 10 times in 30 days, especially with my wife also using the card.
2) Use electronic statements (I don't want paper crap I have to shred anyway)
3) Maintain 1
Anyone who votes negative doesn't understand taxes (Score:4, Informative)
Any money you get back is money you had already paid in, and gave to the government as an interest-free 12-16 month loan.
Re:Anyone who votes negative doesn't understand ta (Score:5, Insightful)
Or, you know, they're not humorless nerds and understand that the poll's about what you get back at filing time.
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I read it as amount of taxes paid period, not the amount paid or refunded at filling. I paid but also received a little back, so I voted incorrectly. Oh well, thanks to Slashdot's polling system I'll be able to vote the other way later today... Or should I vote twice the other way to negate the incorrect selection? Decisions, decisions...
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Why do we have to be humorless nerds? Some of us do really pay negitive taxes.
Child care credit $1,200
Education credits $810
Retirement savings contribution credit $200
Residential energy credit $1,309
Additional child tax credit $2,000
American opportunity credit $540
I paid ~3k in withholdings this year but am getting ~5.6k back :)
The government is giving me over 2500 dollars for living in this country.... negitive taxes
Armed Robbery (Score:2)
Imagine what the majority of people would do if they actually saw their money first, then had to send in the full amount in April.
Most of them wouldn't have it on hand to pay. And then would face fines and other financial penalties, which they also wouldn't have the money to pay. And that would pile up until eventually somebody came to take all their stuff, or maybe even them, away; with some nice men with badges and guns at the ready if they have a problem with that.
But then people might actually realize that taxation is literally armed robbery, only where most just hand their wallet over before the mugger even draws his weapon; and
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But then people might actually realize that taxation is literally armed robbery, only where most just hand their wallet over before the mugger even draws his weapon; and we couldn't have that, could we?
Really? You don't see anything positive come from your tax dollars?
Me? I love driving my car on well-maintained roads and eating food that is safe.
I think it's just tops that when I'm sick, I can take medicine that was evaluated for safety and efficiency, and that the fire department will douse my house (or my neighbors) if it's on fire.
And that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface!
I like paying taxes -- as another users .sig says -- with them, I buy civilization.
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Really? You don't see anything positive come from your tax dollars? Me? I love driving my car on well-maintained roads and eating food that is safe. I think it's just tops that when I'm sick, I can take medicine that was evaluated for safety and efficiency, and that the fire department will douse my house (or my neighbors) if it's on fire.
There is other fun stuff that our money get spent on:
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Medicine that was paid for by medical insurance (for those who have it), not taxes
Wow, way to completely misunderstand what I wrote! Maybe you should give that another try, starting with a google search for "FDA".
Anyhow, you DO have a say -- and not just at the ballot box. You can organize, petition, protest, etc. If you want things to change, you can make things happen if you put in the work!
You could even enter politics yourself -- start with your local government and work your way up!
Until you're doing something to help effect change, enjoy the many great services provided by your
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I see plenty of good things for my tax dollars, and if presented with a choice to either lose those things and stop paying taxes, or keep those things and keep paying taxes, I'd happily buy them. Well, not that wars and such, but the social services and "civilization", sure thing.
I'm not complaining that I am suffering horribly or not getting my money's worth (although that's hard to tell without the ability to shop around, what with there being a regional monopoly on the civilization market here).
But the p
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You're not forced to pay taxes -- you can quit working if you want and barter whatever you have or can produce in exchange for whatever. Of course, you'll have a hell of a time getting on!
I never understood this kind of keen individualism -- it's impossible to achieve that kind of independence and still live in a functioning society. We live in communities and taxes, laws, etc. are a necessary part of that.
The only appeal that I can see is to those who feel powerless -- in the sense that they don't feel a
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You're not forced to pay taxes -- you can quit working if you want and barter whatever you have or can produce in exchange for whatever. Of course, you'll have a hell of a time getting on!
Technically that's all taxable too, it's just a lot harder for them to track. For example, if you receive housing in lieu of pay, you have to report that; I've known someone in that situation, paying non-negligible taxes despite having negligible cash income. Of course she could have gotten away with it if she just hadn't reported anything, in fact her landlord didn't like the extra paperwork that that generated and preferred that she not; but she was compulsively honest and law-abiding and so subjected her
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I've got some detailed thoughts on that subject, but there are a whole long post or two of their own, so I'll refrain unless you ask.
I'm all ears.
That was someone else who mentioned railroads BTW; and "private" prisons are among the worst examples of government corruption and not at all representative of what a truly free society would look like.
Yes, you're right, I do have you mixed up with someone else. I don't know if the detailed thoughts you have apply (I don't know what they are yet) though I'd be curious to see them applied to prisons.
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Ethics and Benefits (Score:2)
As the person he responded to, I can tell you you have my motivations completely backward.
I come from a family with nothing. My parents are divorced; my mom is disabled and rents a tiny room in someone else's house, and my dad is still barely paying off the shitty run-down mobile home I grew up in. I turn 30 this year and still make below the national average, have lived below the poverty level most of my adult life, and don't expect this to ever change significantly; my greatest aspiration is to someday ow
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Civilization costs money, you don't get to have nice things without paying for them. You may want to live as a free rider who gets all the benefit with none of the cost but the rest of us (via the police) don't have to put up with you.
I'm not asking for something from nothing... and I'm not saying "who needs civilization" either. It's not a question of whether I'm getting my money's worth, though it's hard to tell without alternatives to choose from; but I'm getting something decent for a price that's not unbearable. It's a question of not having a choice in the matter, not in the consumerist "why is nobody else selling this cheaper/better waaah" lack of choice, but in the ethical "you know, I would shop here anyway, you don't need to po
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This is what I do. Have nothing withheld then pay the whole lot in July (tax year is Jul-Jun here). Makes a lot of sense since you are earning interest on that money throughout the year (which is ~6% here in Australia in an online savings account or term deposit/CD)
Negative tax bills.... (Score:3)
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The instance of these "end of year surprises" *should* reduce in the UK from next year, when RTI (Ral Time Information - sort of PAYE on steroids) is intrduced.
I don't think that is necessarily cause for rejoicing. Government information systems are not always 100% accurate, as you can read here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9194462/25000-men-need-an-obstetrician-or-gynaecologist-every-year.html [telegraph.co.uk]
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Plenty of people who qualify for the EITC pay taxes, including people earning up to ~$43k. It *is* a huge marriage penalty though, since only couples making up to ~$49k are eligible. It also discourages investment, since people with capital gains over ~$3k are ineligible.
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Or I am a disabled pensioner who works a bit as well, has less than $10,000 income and gets all their tax back, plus my medical benefits.
Yes, yes I did understand the question.
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With no taxable income for last year, I suppose I should have answered zero but I will receive a Homestead tax credit payment - thus I figure that in sum my bill was negative.
While I understood what you wrote, not everyone is subject to withholding.
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Even if you overpaid previously, a refund (or "credit") is still a "negative" tax bill.
Your "tax bill" shows a negative amount owed (a refund).
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I realize that, but I assume the poll meant "negative" to mean the IRS wasn't asking you for a payment on or before April 15th. thanks to the results of your return.
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> there is no such thing as a "negative" tax bill.
Wrong. in the U.S. *most* federal tax credits are non-refundable, but not all. If you don't make a lot of money, but qualify for refundable credits, it's quite possible to have a negative FIT bill.
I need nothing deducted from my paychecks, because my FIT bill is negative every year. Now if you add in all of the other federal, state, and local taxes I pay, I still pay more than I get, but those are separate "bills".
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Here's the thing a bunch of people don't want to admit about EITC. The Earned Income Tax Credit is a right wing idea. It's what a bunch of Republicans came up with to do away with conventional welfare. It was sold to the public as "workfare not welfare". It was limited to a maximum of 2 kids per household until President Obama because people on the right worried about the poor outbreeding the wealthy. 30 years ago, the equivalent of Rush and Beck and Coulter were pushing it as all the fix we needed to keep
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IE they will spend everything whether they have it or not until there is nothing left but a sea of worthless currency.
Negative, as usual (Score:5, Insightful)
I know that dread of doing taxes is an American tradition, but at least for me (a single person who rents, has income from only one source, and doesn't own any complicated investments), doing my 1040 takes me two or three hours at most, and a few weeks later I get a deposit in my bank account. Easy money.
Given that this has happened three years in a row, I should probably get my employer to adjust my withholding, but frankly getting $2000 hard cash is a nice "bonus" every spring, and really, what else would I do with the money if I had it earlier? I'm already fully funding my retirement account. I suppose I could put it in a CD for .05% interest or whatever those are paying these days, but the lump sum is more appealing.
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Also... "negative" by about a grand but that's as close as I can usually get.
Re:Negative, as usual (Score:4, Interesting)
two to three hours? Are you kidding me?
Listen to me very closely. Put that money in a retirement fund. Every moneth. Do so now. If you think I am blowing smoke, look yourself in the mirror and imagine what you will look like when you are 65. That ask if you want that person to be working to scratch out a living? Or enjoying themselves?
If I had the opportunity to change just ONE thing, it would be to create a retirement fund.
And use the free tax software online. I was in your situation in the 70's. and even then it only took an hour. And that included going to the post office to get the forms.
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Putting in the maximum amount that your employer will match, or the maximum amount you can get incentives for on your tax return is not the same thing as "fully funding" your retirement account.
To fully fund your retirement, you need to do an analysis of how much money you want annually as a retiree (don't forget incredibly increased medical costs) and then work backwards to figure out how much you need in the account when you retire, and how much you need to put in now to get there. I'd be surprised if aft
Negative for Fed, positive for state (Score:2)
I work in one state and live in another, so I inevitably wind up paying more in state income taxes.
Negative, and I like it that way (Score:5, Informative)
IIRC, my effective tax rate was somewhere between 25-30% (state and fed combined). Hopefully they'll put my dollars to good use and pave some roads or finance something else infrastructure related. I don't mind paying taxes...I just don't want to see them waste the money. It's probably naive to assume they won't waste it away, though.
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waste is really a misnomer. It's used by politicians to create an emotional US v Them state.
Very little money is wasted. You can find this out for yourself.
What does happen is the keyhole effect. People get a narrow view of what's going on, don't understand it, and then freak out.
Far more money is wasted in the private sector.
I am not saying there is no waste, or that some projects aren't needed. However it's not nearly as bad as certian politician would have you believe.
You will have waste in any large org
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I'd assume by "waste" he means most or all undesirable use of taxes.
Inefficiency in this context does not usually mean everything below absolute efficiency, it's everything below a reasonable target. That said, I don't doubt the gist of your comment that most people have a perception gap as to what the actual efficiency is, or what a reasonable target would be.
Then there's agency-problem expenditure which goes somewhere on the sliding-scale from that which is spent because it is politically advantageous to
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Um, your tax bill == the sum of your paycheck deductions - your refund.
Still sticking with the "negative" answer?
What is a tax bill? (Score:2)
Do you mean payment?
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Do you mean payment?
I believe that was the intent (which, judging by the conversation, is not as obvious as I thought it was), i.e. did you owe, break even, or get a refund?
Nasty surprise . . . (Score:3)
But not a nasty surprise from the government as much as from my wife's new employer.
She's starting a new job this year and got a signing bonus. But they claimed payment in 2011, even though we didn't get check until January 2012. OK, I knew we'd have a tax liability, since they probably wouldn't be doing the withholding, but I didn't expect them to report it on a 1099-MISC. So we get hit with self-employment tax, too. That would be all well and good if she were really self-employed, since we could certainly find plenty of Schedule C deductions to offset much of the tax. But she's not, and the IRS wouldn't fall for that it we did.
So we've got to file a request for determination of employment status form. And although we might be able to not pay the SETA part when we file, I'm not sure I want to bet the farm on the IRS ruling the we we think they will, so I'll have to wait and see, then file another "taxes not properly withheld" form and amend the tax return later to get some money back. And it's probably not gonna make the new job that happy to get a bill for unpaid FICA, etc., either. But it's not my fault they wanted to save a few bucks by cheating the system.
Missing Option: Not Enough (Score:5, Interesting)
My tax bill was not enough. It should have been higher.
You know how I know that? Because we have a dangerous debt and deficit, and taxes aren't a significant burden for me financially. When the debt and deficit are where they are, we should be making sacrifices to cut them. We should be sacrificing social programs, research programs, foreign adventurism, and the standing military -- and taxable units should be making personal sacrifices by paying higher taxes.
Until the budget is out of the danger zone, we should do all of those things, and repeat until we are back in the safe zone.
We have bills to pay. I don't have to like it if we decide to take the money from people in my bracket. I don't have to be happy about what programs we choose to cut. But I have to pay my bills.
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Agree to most of that except the research programs and the standing military. If you eliminate some of the military force, there would be quite a bit more people out of work.
You're right about that. Take a look at the military's budget breakdown sometime; you'll quickly come to notice that the troops aren't what's expensive - it's all those billion dollar planes and tanks and ships and bombs and other equipment that never gets used that really jacks their costs up.
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Military force that will never be needed is just as useless (Probably more so) than finding out what prehistoric man ate for breakfast.
Agreed. I'm all for employment, but it needs to be useful employment - telemarketers and spammers cried the same way about putting people out of jobs. If the job isn't doing something beneficial then that person should be doing something else.
Retired (Score:2)
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How do you have no income? I thought that even those receiving social security retirement checks were required to file a 1040...
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Leona Helmsley (Score:2)
Printed on the receipt (Score:2)
Sales tax. ??? Poorly worded question if you wanted to know tax return status. The only "bill" I get for taxes is the property tax bill. Even if I get a return of money from the state and IRS, my total tax liability is positive. i.e., over-paying != negative taxes paid.
Almost As Low as Mitt Romney's (Score:2)
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Re:I pay way too much... (Score:5, Insightful)
blah blah blah poor people lazy un bad, blah blah blah "Tea Party" blah blah sense of self entitlement blah blah blah
OK, champ, so what's your brilliant alternative solution? Cut off all welfare funding? While that might make you feel all self-rightous and justified, you'll be singing a different tune once all those "lazy freeloaders" who were working 2 jobs and still couldn't make ends meet no longer have the financial safety net they used to, and are forced to resort to robbing self-centered assholes like yourself just to keep their families from starving.
Of course, as a Tea-bagger, you probably think paying $30,000/yr to imprison all the poor people (out of sight, out of mind, right comrade?) is more fiscally reasonable than the $15,000/yr that their welfare costs, right? Personally, I don't like the idea of paying for dopers to sit around on their asses watching Maury either, but I'm not so blinded by my hatred of the less-fortunate that I can't see the forest for the trees... Probably doesn't hurt that I was, at one time, a member of the working poor, so I know what it's like to bust ass for 16+ hours a day, 7 days a week, and still have jack-shit to show for it.
Bigoted dumbass.
Re:I pay way too much... (Score:4, Informative)
Oh yes. The poor and down trodden, just waiting for any chance to pounce on whitey. I agree with you - "they" are all like that. (Rolls eyes.)
While I agree that OP is somewhat pompous / self rightous I will point out that if you spend a little time in Baltimore (where I live) you will see exactly what he is talking about. During any given weekday, dozens of able bodied men walking up and down the street in their bling and with their fancy smart phones. Go to a white neighborhood and it is deserted: most folks are off at work.
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Oh yes. The poor and down trodden, just waiting for any chance to pounce on whitey. I agree with you - "they" are all like that. (Rolls eyes.)
While I agree that OP is somewhat pompous / self rightous I will point out that if you spend a little time in Baltimore (where I live) you will see exactly what he is talking about. During any given weekday, dozens of able bodied men walking up and down the street in their bling and with their fancy smart phones. Go to a white neighborhood and it is deserted: most folks are off at work.
Wow, OK, well, since no one mentioned race until you did, is there something you need to tell us?
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They are going to need to money in order to fund another ass kicking from the British.