[MistyTiger]

People are whining about smaller refunds or owing money. Well that is what happens when you have a larger personal deduction.

Say you have this for an example:

Pre-Trump tax refund:
gross wages: 15,000
deduction: 1600
total: 13,400

New result under Trump
gross wages: 15,000
deduction: 6000
total: 9,000

So what we actually needed was a smaller personal deduction. But most people are bad with math. I wouldn't mind a $100 personal deduction for being a single person LOL.

[Crantag]

People are whining about smaller refunds or owing money. Well that is what happens when you have a larger personal deduction.

Say you have this for an example:

Pre-Trump tax refund:
gross wages: 15,000
deduction: 1600
total: 13,400

New result under Trump
gross wages: 15,000
deduction: 6000
total: 9,000

So what we actually needed was a smaller personal deduction. But most people are bad with math. I wouldn't mind a $100 personal deduction for being a single person LOL.

The capping of federal deductions on local taxes, including property taxes, seems to be a big factor, and this was well foreseen. There were also reports that somehow monthly withholdings were reduced, leading to people thinking they had paid less taxes at the time of their paycheck when really they had just withheld less, which is I think what you mean. But that's just part of it.

[Hindsite]

People are whining about smaller refunds or owing money. Well that is what happens when you have a larger personal deduction.

Say you have this for an example:

Pre-Trump tax refund:
gross wages: 15,000
deduction: 1600
total: 13,400

New result under Trump
gross wages: 15,000
deduction: 6000
total: 9,000

So what we actually needed was a smaller personal deduction. But most people are bad with math. I wouldn't mind a $100 personal deduction for being a single person LOL.

That is crazy liberal thinking. Even with your own example, under the Trump plan only 9,000 would be taxable verses 13,400. That means less tax under the Trump plan.

Many of those people whining about smaller refunds or owing money are too dumb to realize that they got more money in their paychecks already because less money was taken out for tax. They probably just didn't notice it. Also some employers, who subsidize healthcare took more out to cover the increase in the Obamacare healthcare expense.

[MistyTiger]

The capping of federal deductions on local taxes, including property taxes, seems to be a big factor, and this was well foreseen. There were also reports that somehow monthly withholdings were reduced, leading to people thinking they had paid less taxes at the time of their paycheck when really they had just withheld less, which is I think what you mean. But that's just part of it.

Thanks for this. Yes, I meant that less was withheld from the paycheck.

Property taxes in my city are supposedly capped but they go up every 6 months. Bullshit! We pay for other city expenses in the taxes not just for the crappy soil.

[jimjam]

Comrade Donald has nominated David Malpass to head up the World Bank. Malpass, currently an under secretary of the treasury, will fit right in with Don's M.O. of choosing bootlickers who, like Pence, will not only lick his boots but demonstrate zero potential to outshine the Greatest President in History.

The first thing Trump looks for in an appointee is someone who shares his values — above all, his absolute lack of compassion for those less fortunate than himself. And if you want an economic official who doesn’t care about the poor or the unlucky, you must perforce go for a right-winger.

But Trump also has another criterion: He wants people who will be personally dependent on him, who don’t have any kind of professional reputation to defend and therefore won’t take a stand on principle. That is, he only wants hacks.

Does this mean that the men he has chosen will stand in the way of his policies? No, not at all. They are hacks, after all, and will tell Trump whatever he wants to hear.

But it does mean that Trumpian economic policy is being made by men who, almost by definition, don’t know what they’re doing. To have gotten their jobs, they not only had to have track records of talking nonsense, but to have suddenly started talking completely different nonsense — reversing their long-held positions to curry favor with the Very Stable Genius.

[Hindsite]

Comrade Donald has nominated David Malpass to head up the World Bank. Malpass, currently an under secretary of the treasury, will fit right in with Don's M.O. of choosing bootlickers who, like Pence, will not only lick his boots but demonstrate zero potential to outshine the Greatest President in History.

The first thing Trump looks for in an appointee is someone who shares his values — above all, his absolute lack of compassion for those less fortunate than himself. And if you want an economic official who doesn’t care about the poor or the unlucky, you must perforce go for a right-winger.

But Trump also has another criterion: He wants people who will be personally dependent on him, who don’t have any kind of professional reputation to defend and therefore won’t take a stand on principle. That is, he only wants hacks.

Does this mean that the men he has chosen will stand in the way of his policies? No, not at all. They are hacks, after all, and will tell Trump whatever he wants to hear.

But it does mean that Trumpian economic policy is being made by men who, almost by definition, don’t know what they’re doing. To have gotten their jobs, they not only had to have track records of talking nonsense, but to have suddenly started talking completely different nonsense — reversing their long-held positions to curry favor with the Very Stable Genius.

If they don't know what they are doing, them Trump can tell them. What a concept. I never thought of that, but I am not a very stable genius, like Trump. I am simply a near genius.
Praise the Lord.

[jimjam]

If they don't know what they are doing, them Trump can tell them. What a concept. I never thought of that, but I am not a very stable genius, like Trump. I am simply a near genius.
Praise the Lord.

this is gibberish best left unsaid.

[Stormsmith]

If the ultra wealthy were spending so much, they would not have massive bank accounts and trust funds. If the little guy had better pay, he would not need food stamps, and would spend more. They're in debt because they cannot live on what they get.

[Hindsite]

If the ultra wealthy were spending so much, they would not have massive bank accounts and trust funds. If the little guy had better pay, he would not need food stamps, and would spend more. They're in debt because they cannot live on what they get.

It is true that some of the wealthy company owners do not pay their employees as much as they should. However, they do provide many jobs for those that want to work for a living.

[jimjam]

Oxford economist Eric Beinhocker recently pointed out research that says there are only two ways to cure political tribalism: “A common threat or a common project.” We need a common project, and it’s obvious: Build a new foundation for the middle class. Ultimately that requires the local and the national levels to work together. But for now we should be glad that it’s at least happening at the local level.

jimjam prefers the "common project" route in lieu of Comrade Donald's "common threat" that stresses fear, anger, hatred and hoards of brown skinned rapists, murderers and crazed drug gang members. Lord knows that the middle class ,which has been decimated by years of plutocracy inspired game rigging in favor of billionaires, could finally use some legislation designed to help then. The top 1% has been rigging the deck for years now and hardly needs another tax break sold on the same ole same ole phony "trickle down" promise.

[Hindsite]

Oxford economist Eric Beinhocker recently pointed out research that says there are only two ways to cure political tribalism: “A common threat or a common project.” We need a common project, and it’s obvious: Build a new foundation for the middle class. Ultimately that requires the local and the national levels to work together. But for now we should be glad that it’s at least happening at the local level.

jimjam prefers the "common project" route in lieu of Comrade Donald's "common threat" that stresses fear, anger, hatred and hoards of brown skinned rapists, murderers and crazed drug gang members. Lord knows that the middle class ,which has been decimated by years of plutocracy inspired game rigging in favor of billionaires, could finally use some legislation designed to help then. The top 1% has been rigging the deck for years now and hardly needs another tax break sold on the same ole same ole phony "trickle down" promise.

Tax breaks help everyone that works for a living. The others don't pay taxes anyway. So I don't see any point in giving them more not to work. That does not solve any important problems.

[Stormsmith]

Who doesnt pay taxes? Let's see. For example:

US Steel made a profit of $957,000,000 paid 0 (zero) taxes and wants a refund of $303,000,000.

Amazon made a profit of $11.2 billion and wants an astonishing $129,000,000. Bezos paid zero taxes.

General Motors, whom I believe were bailed out of debt a decade ago, made a profit of $11.8 billion, and is asking for a refund of $104 million.

And the beat goes on...

Help out the little guy. He'll live a better life, a healthier life, and he'll spend more. Bezos won't.

[Hong Wu]

I do think the NY Amazon thing was silly but even so, I don't get how Amazon needs these tax breaks if it's also some super economic thing that is killing off retail because it's so strong. How can those both be true? So yeah, even I support taxing Amazon.

[XogGyux]

We need a trickle up economics candidate

[jimjam]

Trump attended a holiday dinner just hours after signing the tax bill into law, where he told friends, “You all just got a lot richer.” (Initiation fees at Mar-a-Lago reportedly ring in at $200,000, and the club’s annual membership fee is $14,000.)

Fast forward to today when tax refunds appear to be down substantially and members of Donald's Billionaire Club are scrambling to do damage control:

Supporters of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act stress that the IRS data are early. They say the agency’s statistics to date don’t fully reflect variables that could increase refunds as filing season wears on, such as payments connected to the earned income and child tax credits, the near-elimination of the alternative minimum tax and the impact of the partial federal government shutdown that ended just days before taxpayers could begin filing their tax returns.

Money talks and bullshit ^ walks .

I LOVE what members of Donald's Billionaire Club call their successful heist on the federal treasury: the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" . How about: the "Rich get Richer and The Poor Take it Up The Ass Act"

[Hindsite]

I LOVE what members of Donald's Billionaire Club call their successful heist on the federal treasury: the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" . How about: the "Rich get Richer and The Poor Take it Up The Ass Act"

I love it too.

[XogGyux]

I love it too.

Nothing better than someone who enjoys getting fucked.

[jimjam]

Nothing better than someone who enjoys getting fucked.

I think H.S. is getting by ok. He has some pensions from back in the day when socialism and communism ruled America and pension plans still existed. He also has no scruples about banking his Social Security check compliments of that radical communist villain Franklin D. Roosevelt. He and I may be the last remnants of the old American Middle Class.

[Rancid]

People are whining about smaller refunds or owing money. Well that is what happens when you have a larger personal deduction.

Agreed, just looking at your refund or what you owe doesn't indicate if you had a tax cut or not. People that complain about this simply don't understand how taxes work and are likely stupid.

My refund was smaller than last year, but my effective tax rate was smaller, thus I actually did get a break even though my refund was smaller.

Ultimately, it netted me a few hundred dollars more. Which wasn't impressive to me.

[Rancid]

Who doesnt pay taxes? Let's see. For example:

US Steel made a profit of $957,000,000 paid 0 (zero) taxes and wants a refund of $303,000,000.

Amazon made a profit of $11.2 billion and wants an astonishing $129,000,000. Bezos paid zero taxes.

General Motors, whom I believe were bailed out of debt a decade ago, made a profit of $11.8 billion, and is asking for a refund of $104 million.

And the beat goes on...

Help out the little guy. He'll live a better life, a healthier life, and he'll spend more. Bezos won't.

Hear hear! Stormsmith for president!