Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

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Hot Tube?
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

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Be sure to use Hot Tube Friction Lube.

As seen on TV.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

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Social media users are blasting Speaker of the House Paul Ryan on Twitter after he boasted about the GOP tax bill by sharing a story of a Pennsylvania teacher seeing a pay increase of a little over a dollar a week.

“A secretary at a public high school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, said she was pleasantly surprised her pay went up $1.50 a week she said [that] will more than cover her Costco membership for the year,” Ryan tweeted.
After facing a backlash, he deleted the tweet

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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by killbot737 »

If I had an extra dollar per week I'd spend it on lottery tickets. Maybe I'd feed the birds instead, at least then I'd see immediate results. Tuppence.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by malchior »

Paywall: Washington Post reports that borrowing will jump 84% over last year due to new tax law.

Cue the *completely unexpected and desperate* need to address entitlements...in...3...2...1...

Nothing like borrowing against your children's futures to give money to the extremely wealthy. This is a complete run on the treasury by the plutocrats and it is completely obvious. People should be marching in the streets over this.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by Skinypupy »

And there it is...right on cue.
Trump's fiscal 2019 budget proposes $1.7 trillion in entitlement cuts over a decade, including $237 billion to Medicare, according to a summary we obtained.
Two thoughts come to mind:
1. If I pay into the safety net my entire life then actually have to use it, that doesn't really make it an "entitlement", now does it?
2. God forbid we take one goddamn cent from our absurdly bloated military to pay for any of this bullshit tax plan.
Last edited by Skinypupy on Mon Feb 12, 2018 4:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

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Skinypupy wrote: Mon Feb 12, 2018 4:25 pm And there it is...right on cue.
Trump's fiscal 2019 budget proposes $1.7 trillion in entitlement cuts over a decade, including $237 billion to Medicare, according to a summary we obtained.
If I pay into the safety net my entire life then actually have to use it, that doesn't really make it an "entitlement", now does it?
On the contrary, that's exactly what makes it an entitlement. You are entitled to it. Unlike the popular usage of the term.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by Moliere »

Skinypupy wrote: Mon Feb 12, 2018 4:25 pm 2. God forbid we take one goddamn cent from our absurdly bloated military to pay for any of this bullshit tax plan.
As long as we're honest that this is a bipartisan problem. It's not accidental that companies like Lockheed, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman spread their offices and jobs across as many Congressional districts as possible. To the point that even Bernie Sanders doesn't want to report back to his constituents that he voted away their jobs.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

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Tell me what the rules are and I'll tell you how I play the game.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by Zarathud »

Trump is proposing to cut the IRS budget by 6% while they face the enormous task of implementing and interpreting the 2017 Tax Act. There are vast new tax cuts which are poorly defined, and other sections that are ambiguous or flat-out wrong from the last-minute effort. The Trump Administration missed the deadline to identify the priorities of the IRS -- other than requiring the Social Security numbers for earned income tax credits and child tax credits.

Even our tax system's only priority seems to be auditing minorities. So sad.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by Max Peck »

Zarathud wrote: Mon Feb 12, 2018 5:31 pm Trump is proposing to cut the IRS budget by 6% while they face the enormous task of implementing and interpreting the 2017 Tax Act. There are vast new tax cuts which are poorly defined, and other sections that are ambiguous or flat-out wrong from the last-minute effort. The Trump Administration missed the deadline to identify the priorities of the IRS -- other than requiring the Social Security numbers for earned income tax credits and child tax credits.

Even our tax system's only priority seems to be auditing minorities. So sad.
With that budget cut, the IRS will probably never have the resources to finish Trump's audit.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by Fitzy »

Max Peck wrote: Mon Feb 12, 2018 8:18 pm
With that budget cut, the IRS will probably never have the resources to finish Trump's audit.
If they'd finish the audit, the penalties might pay for the 6%

Seriously though, does anyone think the IRS is still auditing Trump? I have my doubts. I mean, I'd be surprised if they were auditing him when he claimed it, but if they were, I'd be very surprised they were still bothering.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by Zarathud »

If failing to clap is treason, the poor IRS agent auditing Trump is now "on vacation" in Guantanamo Bay.
"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." - Albert Einstein
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“It is the impractical things in this tumultuous hell-scape of a world that matter most. A book, a name, chicken soup. They help us remember that, even in our darkest hour, life is still to be savored.” - Poe, Altered Carbon
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

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Moliere wrote: Mon Feb 12, 2018 4:42 pm
Skinypupy wrote: Mon Feb 12, 2018 4:25 pm 2. God forbid we take one goddamn cent from our absurdly bloated military to pay for any of this bullshit tax plan.
As long as we're honest that this is a bipartisan problem. It's not accidental that companies like Lockheed, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman spread their offices and jobs across as many Congressional districts as possible. To the point that even Bernie Sanders doesn't want to report back to his constituents that he voted away their jobs.
Oh, it absolutely is.

Even more infuriating when any attempt at a discussion about an actual sane military budget is met with WHY DONT YOU SUPPORT THE TROOPS-style screeching.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by malchior »

Then you have his transportation plan which is basically privatize everything. Here is $200B we found by cutting some rural transportation programs. We'll use that as seed money to privatize all the roads and sell them off to the wealthy. Now I get all the admiration for Russia. It is the model oligarchy target state for our nation.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by Skinypupy »

You guys may want to sit down for this shocking news, but US corporations are buying back record amounts of stock since the tax cut.
U.S. corporations have announced more than $218 billion in share buybacks since Congress enacted the Republican tax overhaul in December, an investment research firm said on Wednesday.

The California-based firm TrimTabs, which tracks corporate buybacks, said the value of buyback programs announced in February alone surged to $153.7 billion from $59.9 billion in January, smashing a previous monthly record of $133 billion in April 2015.
I'm sure that trickle down will start any...day...now. :lol:
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by Jeff V »

My company just announced 4th quarter results. They are taking a $110 million charge relating to costs associated with the "tax cuts." Bonuses and 401(k) matching continue to be abolished and for the umpteenth consecutive year pay increases are expected to be capped at 1%.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

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Jeff V wrote: Fri Mar 02, 2018 3:16 pm My company just announced 4th quarter results. They are taking a $110 million charge relating to costs associated with the "tax cuts." Bonuses and 401(k) matching continue to be abolished and for the umpteenth consecutive year pay increases are expected to be capped at 1%.
That's not how any of this is supposed to work. Maybe your company should go into coal mining instead.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by Jeff V »

Kraken wrote: Fri Mar 02, 2018 4:22 pm
Jeff V wrote: Fri Mar 02, 2018 3:16 pm My company just announced 4th quarter results. They are taking a $110 million charge relating to costs associated with the "tax cuts." Bonuses and 401(k) matching continue to be abolished and for the umpteenth consecutive year pay increases are expected to be capped at 1%.
That's not how any of this is supposed to work. Maybe your company should go into coal mining instead.
Oh, the company is just steeped in winning though. Sure, our stock is worth only half what it was before the start of this stock market bull run, but hey, massive dividends were just announced!
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by malchior »

The IRS changed the max contribution for HSAs for 2018. In March. Down $50. It is a 0.7% change. What the hell. Perhaps just don't increase it next year? My employer just sent us a notice that we will be given an exemption to change our election since we do it in Open Enrollment normally. What a waste of time and money for an insignificant adjustment.

Edit: How is this related to tax reform you ask? The IRS is claiming this is due to a change in the inflation calculation in the tax reform bill. Our country is truly governed by total idiots.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

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malchior wrote: Wed Mar 07, 2018 5:50 pm The IRS changed the max contribution for HSAs for 2018. In March. Down $50. It is a 0.7% change. What the hell. Perhaps just don't increase it next year? My employer just sent us a notice that we will be given an exemption to change our election since we do it in Open Enrollment normally. What a waste of time and money for an insignificant adjustment.

Edit: How is this related to tax reform you ask? The IRS is claiming this is due to a change in the inflation calculation in the tax reform bill. Our country is truly governed by total idiots.
That's crazy.

But you never know. Maybe clawing back $5-10 from everyone that maxed out their HSA will save the country.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by malchior »

LawBeefaroni wrote: Wed Mar 07, 2018 5:56 pmBut you never know. Maybe clawing back $5-10 from everyone that maxed out their HSA will save the country.
Totally - if you're in the top bracket the government just reclaimed $18.50. That is a tidy sum.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

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Uh-huh. It's clearly cover for a mistake. The economic costs of adjusting down everyone who was maxing out will alone far exceed any benefit to the govt.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by Zarathud »

No, it's a hidden tax increase scheduled to bring in $134-500 billion of revenue over 10 years. Chained CPI makes inflation seem lower so tax brackets raise more slowly than CPI salary adjustments. That means you hit higher tax brackets faster. It's a 6% lower adjustment from 2000-2017.
"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." - Albert Einstein
"I don't stand by anything." - Trump
“Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” - John Stuart Mill, Inaugural Address Delivered to the University of St Andrews, 2/1/1867
“It is the impractical things in this tumultuous hell-scape of a world that matter most. A book, a name, chicken soup. They help us remember that, even in our darkest hour, life is still to be savored.” - Poe, Altered Carbon
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by malchior »

GOP tax message hits a snag
A CNBC poll this week stated that just 32 percent of working adults reported having more take-home pay due to the new law, a problem for Republicans hoping to run on the measure and the health of the economy in November.


The GOP has made the tax-cut law the centerpiece of its campaign message, arguing that Republican control of Congress and the White House led to legislation that is putting more money in people’s pockets and stimulating an economy with low unemployment.

Yet the CNBC poll suggested that many people aren’t noticing much of a change from the law, a sentiment that could feed into Democratic arguments that it is helping the rich while doing little for the middle class.
The schadenfreude is real here.
Conservatives say their problem is about messaging. They say they simply have to do more to deliver the news about the tax bill and its benefits.
Good luck with that.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by Isgrimnur »

That extra $20 a week is going to have me retiring early. Like five minutes early.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by malchior »

On the other hand - my check went up significantly. Enough so that I dug in and found out it was a blind guess by ADP. It went down slightly this month but I still am putting aside money and thinking about making an estimated payment to protect myself.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by malchior »

Corker possibly "remorseful" about his vote for the tax cut
“If it ends up costing what has been laid out here, it could well be one of the worst votes I’ve made,” he said at a Senate Budget Committee hearing on the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate that produced the figure.


“I hope that is not the case, I hope there’s other data to assist, whether it’s jobs or growth or whatever,” Corker added.
Criminally stupid or just a criminal. Hard to tell with this bunch.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

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Under Trump's watch, national debt tops $21 trillion for first time ever:
About a year ago, President Trump pledged to eliminate the national debt "over a period of eight years." But for the first time in history, the national debt surpassed $21 trillion this week, according to the U.S. Treasury.

...

Republicans railed against the national debt level under the Obama administration, when it jumped from $10.6 trillion to $19.9 trillion, nearly doubling, but few have been as outspoken about the situation with Republicans controlling Capitol Hill and the White House.
Weird, right? But I'll just wait here for "But Obama..." and we can get started.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

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...and Leon's getting larger!
The federal government recorded a $74.9 billion deficit in June, a month when the government often runs a surplus, as corporate taxes dropped sharply compared to a year ago.

The June deficit pushed the imbalance so far this year to $607.1 billion, 16.1 percent higher than the same period a year ago, the Treasury Department said in its monthly report. The Congressional Budget Office is forecasting that the deficit for the entire budget year will total $793 billion, up 19.1 percent from the prior year, reflecting in part the impact of the $1.5 trillion tax cut that Congress approved in December plus increases in government spending lawmakers approved earlier this year.
I wonder what might have contributed to that?
Revenue from corporate tax payments totaled $41 billion in June, down $20 billion from a year ago. The new report showed that corporate tax payments fell by 33 percent from a year ago and so far this budget year, which began on Oct. 1, are running 20 percent below the same period a year ago.
Wait a second, you pass regulations that give corporations and the wealthy tax breaks and the federal government's deficit increases? It's almost like...it's all going according to plan.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by malchior »

Somewhere out there Arthur Laffer and Grover Norquist are waiting for that sweet, sweet growth to kick in and make those tax cuts revenue positive!
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by GreenGoo »

malchior wrote: Fri Jul 13, 2018 10:41 pm Somewhere out there Arthur Laffer and Grover Norquist are waiting for that sweet, sweet growth to kick in and make those tax cuts revenue positive!
'xactly.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by malchior »

And almost on cue here they come after the safety net - Administration declares victory in War on Poverty.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by Skinypupy »

malchior wrote: Sat Jul 14, 2018 8:00 am And almost on cue here they come after the safety net - Administration declares victory in War on Poverty.
There is not - and never has been - any “war on poverty”. There’s only a war on poor people, and damn are the rich ever winning.

Let’s call it what it actually is.

EDIT: is not, brain no worky
Last edited by Skinypupy on Sat Jul 14, 2018 11:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

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The missionary position?

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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by Smoove_B »

I can't imagine owing more money, but maybe it's time to call the accountant:
More Americans will be writing a check to the IRS in April because their employers are not withholding enough from their paychecks following the new tax law, the Government Accountability Office says in a new report.

Based on simulations run by the Treasury Department, the GAO says taxes for 30 million Americans — 21 percent of taxpayers — are being underwithheld by their employers, meaning they are getting a larger check this year, but will owe at tax time in April. According to the simulations, 73 percent of taxpayers will be overwithheld and receive a refund from the Internal Revenue Service.
Or not:
Who should be concerned? According to the GAO, a hypothetical taxpayer who is married with two children, earning $180,000 annually, $20,000 of which comes from non-wage income and who itemizes deductions.
Maybe next year, maybe no go
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by Isgrimnur »

:roll:

2016 numbers show the upper limit of the 4th quintile at ~$121k. Top 5% starts at ~$225k.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by malchior »

I talked about this awhile ago but ADP has been totally screwing up my withholding for my job at very big consulting company. I dug in, got them to agree it was too high...yet they haven't fixed it. So I've made an estimated payment already this year to protect myself from penalties. I really, really would appreciate it if they'd give us a penalty amnesty this year. Especially when they've acknowledged this is a problem of some scope. I'm already getting fisted - now I have to pay extra attention to make sure that fist is deep enough? Sheesh. Ok...I'll stop...gross analogy was gross.
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Re: Trump's Full Court Press on Tax Reform

Post by LordMortis »

Smoove_B wrote: Wed Aug 01, 2018 12:57 pm
Who should be concerned? According to the GAO, a hypothetical taxpayer who is married with two children, earning $180,000 annually, $20,000 of which comes from non-wage income and who itemizes deductions.
That's is 21% of Americans? I find that hard to believe.

I don't find it hard to believe that Tax code was made to confuse, underwithhold, and keep congressional status quo through the 2018 elections. But that's my bias talking. I hate being convinced the GOP is that corrupt but every time I'm afforded the opportunity to change my tune, the GOP shows their teeth and then attacks.
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