patrick.net

TrumpingTits says

I think they are slipping these things out in order to add 'armor' to themselves when Fox and others call out their otherwise SOP bias.

Or the subscriber base has decreased too much due to their only message being ORANGEMANBAD WHITE HETEROSEXUAL MALES JUST LIKE HITLER

The standard deduction was doubled to $12,000+

That means an income tax cut for low wage workers who may not have many larger deductions like wealthier people do such as mortgage interest, etc.

I mentioned this to someone just the other day and of course she had no idea what I was even talking about; she had also never heard of the capital gains tax and couldn't believe that the govt. takes your money after you have saved it and invested it.

clambo says

The standard deduction was doubled to $12,000+

That means an income tax cut for low wage workers who may not have many larger deductions like wealthier people do such as mortgage interest, etc.

I mentioned this to someone just the other day and of course she had no idea what I was even talking about; she had also never heard of the capital gains tax and couldn't believe that the govt. takes your money after you have saved it and invested it.

Spot on. This benefits mostly low and middle class.

clambo says

The standard deduction was doubled to $12,000+

I had this conversation with somebody on a walk recently. In Santa Cruz, they are so intoxicated with TDS, the person was railing that Trump messed up the taxes. When I asked their particulars, I explained to them that their standard deduction as they explained was actually saving them taxes over the old forms. They looked a little puzzled, couldn't even see when the situation actually benefited them.

It's great when propaganda is intense, that the sheep can't even see what is better for them.

Ceffer says

The standard deduction was doubled to $12,000

Yes this did help many but they also did away with the personal exemption, so it wasn't as great a break as it first seemed for people that don't itemize.

The fact of the matter is the changes in the tax code benefited most but not all ordinary tax payers a bit but Corporations, pass thru entities, and the rich were the main direct beneficiaries. It was a typical Republican tax bill, no surprises. And no surprise that after initially juicing the economy it is fizzling out and of course hasn't "paid for itself" Why do you think Trump now is talking about a middle class tax cut? But of course the deficits and debt we are accruing under a President that said he would retire the entire US debt wont allow for that. It has also torpedoed any possibility of an infrastucture program the country desperately needs. Overall a D-

Another gift from the TCJA (tax cuts and jobs act) was making it easier to claim the "earned income credit"=gift of about $3,400 per qualifying child.

In 2018, you could have earned income as low as $2500 (basically not working practically) and still claim the earned income credit. This is even below the earned income limit to qualify for Obamacare.

On the other hand, you could earn a higher amount and still be given the free $$ of the earned income credit.

Anecdotally I know several people in Florida who love the earned income credit; they anxiously await their W2 forms so they file and get the cash from Uncle Sam as soon as possible.

HEYYOU says

Will Trump's tax savings be eaten up by increased cost to consumers in higher prices from tariffs?

Presumably no. This is because when the factory was moved to China, the savings was not passed along to the consumer most of the time. Hence the stock market volatility. It will hit profits much more than prices

clambo says

That means an income tax cut for low wage workers who may not have many larger deductions like wealthier people do such as mortgage interest, etc.

And this is really a fundamental cause of our improving economy.

When poor people get a tax break, they spend the money because they pretty much have to. This extra spending "trickles up" and creates more jobs.

When rich people get a tax break, they just sit on the cash because they don't know what to spend it on and have difficulty investing it profitably. With interest rates at pretty much zero for a decade or more, their investment is not needed to create jobs. Companies can get capital for cheap anyway these days if they have something reasonable to invest in.

Summary: increasing the wealth of our poor benefits the whole economy, while increasing wealth of our rich does not.

A corollary to the previous post is if 1. labor supply is limited 2. economy has growth 3. wages rise for workers

This too benefits the lower wage workers but of course it goes all the way up.

Who doesn't want to have higher wages for their workers?

Answer: rich and the corporations they may be operating; in an attempt to be ever more efficient, they look at cutting the cost of the humans wherever possible.

Their solution is to flood the USA with #1, labor supply.

According to some dimwits, foreigner illegal workers, those who hire them and some politicians, if you like #1, #2, and #3 you are a "racist".

Having orange hair makes you a "crazy racist".

clambo says

The standard deduction was doubled to $12,000+

And the standard deduction was doubled again to $24,000 for married-filing-jointly. With that, a huge number of filers got a standard deduction exceeding 1/2 their entire income!

Even I managed to save a tiny amount of money. I had slightly higher regular tax but didn't get caught up in AMT, which usually causes a situation where I have no deductions at all.

One minor problem with the tax change rollout was that the formula for calculating withholding was too generous. That created a situation where people withheld less during the year and got less refund or even owed some money on April 15th. This is a good thing (you got your money earlier), but those who are truly stupid or just suffering from TDS (or probably both), equate getting a smaller refund on April 15th as paying more taxes.

I know I got a cut saved about 8k

But my cnn idiot neighbor thinks everyone is paying more because cnn told him so.

Kind of like when the dim bulb tea baggers insisted Obama raised their taxes when he extended the Bush tax cuts.

finehoe, Obama didn't "extend Bush tax cuts"; the Republicans won the House of Representatives in Nov 2010 and would not vote to raise taxes.

The large Obama era tax increase was Obamacare which for me was a huge tax; I had to change my health insurance to "Bronze" which cost 3x my previous one, and I had to pay for it April 15, no subsidy for me.

Addendum: I neglected to mention an new Obamacare tax on capital gains from real estate=3.8%

When my father sold his house he paid this tax; later I showed it to him on his tax return. He wasn't aware of it of course.

clambo says

which cost 3x my previous one

That probably didn't cover anything, yes you were required to buy decent insurance or you could pay a fine. For others it was a huge "tax cut". These things often depend on your personal situation, for me though I didnt get subsidies it was pretty much a wash cost wise, but I had decent insurance which was already quite expensive. A number of people with shit coverage got better coverage but it cost them more if the subsidies didn't apply. Only about 10 million people total get their insurance through the exchanges and many get subsidies. Obamacare was funded through tax increases...on the wealthy so there was a direct impact on some tax payers.

While most people received some tax cuts from the Trump plan a not insignificant number of people also received tax increases due to the cap on the State and Local tax deduction and other more arcane changes. Not to mention the tax increases that we are dumping on future generation by increasing the deficits and the national debt

rdm says

for me though I didnt get subsidies it was pretty much a wash cost wise, but I had decent insurance which was already quite expensive.

There's not a chance (zero) your insurance didn't increase substantially after Obamacare unless you were a government worker or switched to a lesser plan. Mine increased almost 40%. Over 3-4 years (can't remember exactly how many) I went from $760 up to $1,200 for myself and my two kids. I don't know one private sector person making a productive living that didn't get smashed with increased rates. I blame the insurance companies, but I don't think Obamacare helped rates by any means.

rdm says

While most people received some tax cuts from the Trump plan a not insignificant number of people also received tax increases due to the cap on the State and Local tax deduction and other more arcane changes.

This was done by plan. High income and property tax states got smashed if you make a decent living. Where do high income taxes and property taxes happen?

rdm says

Not to mention the tax increases that we are dumping on future generation by increasing the deficits and the national debt

Debt won't be paid. And if it's "paid" so to speak it will be with guns and blood. Our debt statistically cannot be paid back, ever.

My insurance spiked over 30% with Obamacare. It was fucked up shit.

That mother fucker made everyone pay more for what we were getting before. He is a fucking glorified insurance salesman.

And now these liberal assholes trying to raise cost of energy with green bullshit. Fuck those people!

WookieMan says

rdm says

for me though I didnt get subsidies it was pretty much a wash cost wise, but I had decent insurance which was already quite expensive.

There's not a chance (zero) your insurance didn't increase substantially after Obamacare unless you were a government worker or switched to a lesser plan. Mine increased almost 40%. Over 3-4 years (can't remember exactly how many) I went from $760 up to $1,200 for myself and my two kids. I don't know one private sector person making a productive living that didn't get smashed with increased rates. I blame the insurance companies, but I don't think Obamacare helped rates by any means.

rdm says

While most people received some tax cuts from the Trump plan a not insignificant number of people also received tax increases due to the cap on the State and Local tax deduction and...