Taxes

[RevDisk]

You know, there's a reason why I hate looking at my pay stub. And even more when it's tax time and I run my calculations...  Strictly counting federal, social security, medicare, state and local taxes, I'm paying 28.7% of my income in taxes.

This doesn't include payroll tax (6.2% of income), gas taxes ($0.184 per gallon), ATF taxes, import duties on anything I bring into the country, tax on my cell phone service, taxes on all my utility bills, taxes on my insurance, etc. And that's just the federal taxes. I don't mind the state and local taxes even a fraction as much. I usually at least get SOMETHING back on those taxes.

Seems to me that if you make more than $36.9k but less than $117k, you are the one getting screwed. If you make over $117k, you've maxed out social security and don't have to pay 7.65% or 15.3% of your wages towards that abomination. If you make less than $36.9k, your book tax rate is 15% (and closer to 9% after standard deduction) and there is a chance you might be able to make something off the hundreds of government programs that exist. Not saying either group has it necessarily good, just that the most screwed is in that middle ground.

[Ben]

Keep in mind the $117K figure only stops paying SSI after they reached that income during the year. So somebody making ~$130K would just have a bigger paycheck for the last month of the year or so.

Otherwise, I just did my taxes and am right there with you. Especially irritating for my 2014 taxes was that when I retired, I had a ton of leave accrued and they paid that to me in one lump some that was taxed at 55%. I shoulda just used up all the leave. Grrr.

[KD5NRH]

Otherwise, I just did my taxes and am right there with you. Especially irritating for my 2014 taxes was that when I retired, I had a ton of leave accrued and they paid that to me in one lump some that was taxed at 55%. I shoulda just used up all the leave. Grrr.

Had one employer that advised me when I gave notice that I should extend my notice to two weeks plus all accrued paid leave.  They didn't get to keep the money anyway, and they preferred to give more of it to me rather than the Feds.  Ended up, to keep it all more legit looking, doing two weeks on, three weeks of paid vacation, then one scheduled day back, for which I used an unpaid personal day.

[Boomhauer]

Yeah I just did my taxes this past weekend...

Nothing to make you cuss on a fine Sunday afternoon like doing taxes.

[Scout26]

Don't forget your property/real estate taxes if you "own" your home.  Then depending on the state you might owe personal property taxes on things like cars and boats.

Plus subtract the going sales tax rate for every dollar (after taxes) that you spend instead of saving or investing (and you also have to pay taxes on investments, see your 1099-DIV's and 1099-B's).

And yet there are policritters in your state capitol and in DC who think that you are not paying your "fair share" and need to be taxed more.


There should be fleets of killdozers out there....

[RoadKingLarry]

If a person was to take the time to figure all the taxes we pay; sales tax, property tax, fuel tax, excise tax, all the government taxes disguised as fees, as well as income taxes in all the various and nefarious forms they take I suspect the average middle class working stiff is paying being robbed of very close to 60% of income.

[lupinus]

Don't forget your property/real estate taxes if you "own" your home.  Then depending on the state you might owe personal property taxes on things like cars and boats.

Plus subtract the going sales tax rate for every dollar (after taxes) that you spend instead of saving or investing (and you also have to pay taxes on investments, see you 1099-DIV's and 1099-B's).

And yet there are policritters in your state capitol and in DC who think that you are not paying your "fair share" and need to be taxed more.


There should be fleets of killdozers out there....

Sometimes when I can't sleep at night I wonder what a meeting of all the founding fathers, modernized, would look like.

These folks revolted over stamps and a tax on their preferred hot brewed beverage. I think they'd about nuke DC, mail bomb most of the federal courts, and fire bomb a number of state capitals for half of the crap we put up with. I'll keep it to myself if that thought brings me peace and helps me sleep or not.

[tokugawa]

"Listen, Serfs- shut up and be glad we don't take it all and your daughters to boot. Understand?! "

  The fact is,  we are essentially slaves, or farm animals if you like, given enough to ensure our productive behavior but not really free at all.  Well, yeah, you can be "free" , if you are willing to live under a bridge  somewhere or  have reached the very peak -up there the slimeballs do whatever they want with impunity from the law.

[Northwoods]

You know, there's a reason why I hate looking at my pay stub. And even more when it's tax time and I run my calculations...  Strictly counting federal, social security, medicare, state and local taxes, I'm paying 28.7% of my income in taxes.

This doesn't include payroll tax (6.2% of income), gas taxes ($0.184 per gallon), ATF taxes, import duties on anything I bring into the country, tax on my cell phone service, taxes on all my utility bills, taxes on my insurance, etc. And that's just the federal taxes. I don't mind the state and local taxes even a fraction as much. I usually at least get SOMETHING back on those taxes.

Seems to me that if you make more than $36.9k but less than $117k, you are the one getting screwed. If you make over $117k, you've maxed out social security and don't have to pay 7.65% or 15.3% of your wages towards that abomination. If you make less than $36.9k, your book tax rate is 15% (and closer to 9% after standard deduction) and there is a chance you might be able to make something off the hundreds of government programs that exist. Not saying either group has it necessarily good, just that the most screwed is in that middle ground.

FICA (Soc. Sec and Medicare/caid) is payroll taxes.

[Cliffh]

Just did our taxes.  Turns out that, in addition to what we've already sent the fed.gov over the last year we still owe a bit over 2 weeks wages.

I'm not going to figure out how many weeks wages they've already gotten, at least not tonight.  Maybe tomorrow after I've payed the bills - shouldn't make my mood any worse then.

[Jocassee]

Now that I'm married, I'm starting to see that work for the lower middle class simply does not pay.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

It gets better


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[brimic]

Don't forget your property/real estate taxes if you "own" your home.

If you think of it as the government being the actual owner of the property and you are simply paying a long term lease on it , it will make more sense.

Feudalism never really went away.

[41magsnub]

Doing mine this weekend, not looking forward to it.

[HankB]

I pay more in total taxes than I do on food, clothing, shelter, and transportation combined.  

Oh, and as for SS taxes - remember, in addition to what is taken out of your check, an equal amount is paid by your employer - salary you never actually see. So your SS tax contribution is actually DOUBLE what shows up on your pay stub.  

And if you "max out" your SS contribution - your eventual SS benefit will NOT increase in proportion to your actual taxes paid; the benefits are steeply progressive.  

And of course, many folks will see their SS benefits taxed - but what the .gov takes won't go back into the SS trust fund, it will go into general revenues; what this means is that fed.gov taxing SS retirement benefits is actually an immense money-laundering operation; by "washing" SS payouts through the accounts of tens of millions of senior citizens, the Feds are PIRATING the SS trust fund in such a way that they don't even have to pretend they're going to pay it back. (Thank you, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.)  

[RoadKingLarry]

Social Security trust fund

  

[Sawdust]

Lockbox!