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I owe how much?

Rogue Valley

Rogue Valley

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I owe how much? Americans are shocked by the impact of Trump's tax law

gasp.jpg


2/19/19
Wait, I owe the IRS?

The first tax filing season under the new federal tax law is proving to be surprising, confusing — and occasionally frightening — for some Americans, especially those accustomed to getting money back from the government. Take Andy Kraft and Amy Elias of Portland, Oregon. The couple had grown comfortable getting a small refund each year, a few hundred dollars or more. Then they found out they owe $10,160 this year. "I will never forget the moment, I thought 'We look good' and then we added in the next W-2 and my jaw hit the floor," Kraft said. "There was no way I wanted to believe that what I was looking at was accurate." President Donald Trump promised a reduction in taxes with the new law. Some people already saw the benefit in the form of bigger paychecks. That's because the law forced employers to change what they withheld. But the system is far from perfect, and many workers didn't have enough in taxes set aside. Now, the IRS wants that money.

In addition, the law also eliminated personal exemptions, increased child credits, limited popular deductions, and generally upended many familiar practices that determine what happens at tax time. Kraft and Elias are able to pay their tax bill but he's still stunned. He even tried to reverse-engineer things to figure out where they went wrong, diving into page after page of IRS rules. He painstakingly put together all the numbers. The couple ultimately asked a CPA to verify the figures they were seeing on TurboTax. Crushingly, they were correct. The couple's effective tax rate was lower, but they still owed the government. The IRS reported Thursday that the average tax refund as of the second week of filing season was $1,949, down 8.7 percent from the year earlier. The total number of refunds is down 16 percent. "I am not surprised by the reaction people are having," Bronnekant said. "I think for some people the reaction is more justified than others."
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And you thought that modest increase in your paycheck every week would be in addition to your usual tax refund check. Think again. Back in 2018, the GOP certainly avoided all discussion of future shock.
 
Rogue Valley said:
I owe how much? Americans are shocked by the impact of Trump's tax law

gasp.jpg




And you thought that modest increase in your paycheck every week would be in addition to your usual tax refund check. Think again. Back in 2018, the GOP certainly avoided all discussion of future shock.
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Please retract this misleading post!
"....Roughly 80% of taxpayers did indeed end up owing less in taxes as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, said Nicole Kaeding, director of federal projects at the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan research group. Only about 5% of people will end up paying more, she said."
Many Americans Are Getting Smaller Tax Refunds This Year. Here'''s How to Know If You'''ll Be One of Them

Oh and you know who that 5 %is mostly?

RICH people who din''t get the full SALT deduction.

#EGG#FACE
 
Rogue Valley said:
And you thought that modest increase in your paycheck every week would be in addition to your usual tax refund check.
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Why would that be the case?
 
Rogue Valley said:
And you thought that modest increase in your paycheck every week would be in addition to your usual tax refund check.
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No one who understands what tax refunds are and how they work did.
 
Typical leftist tripe from people that arent filing anything but the EZ.

"What? You mean I have less taxes taken from my check and the government isnt GIVING me money? Thats not FAIR!!! I was told the government gives money to RICH people...why wont they give it to ME?"

Oh, baby...no...see...it doesnt work that way. When the government lets you KEEP more of what you EARN, thats not the government GIVING you ANYTHING and CERTAINLY not the government stealing pennies from the poor and giving to the rich. Why...anyone that believes THAT would have to be...well....stupid.
 
Dittohead not! said:
Seems rumors of a tax cut for the middle class have been greatly exaggerated.
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I think if you can pay 10k emergency money out of nowhere then your probably rich and above middle class.
 
KLATTU said:
Please retract this misleading post!
"....Roughly 80% of taxpayers did indeed end up owing less in taxes as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, said Nicole Kaeding, director of federal projects at the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan research group. Only about 5% of people will end up paying more, she said."
Many Americans Are Getting Smaller Tax Refunds This Year. Here'''s How to Know If You'''ll Be One of Them

Oh and you know who that 5 %is mostly?

RICH people who din''t get the full SALT deduction.

#EGG#FACE
Click to expand...

Nicole Kaeding
@NKaeding
·
Dec 26, 2017
I don’t claim that there aren’t some that will have a tax increase (~ 5% in 2018), my point was that there is a giant mismatch between perception and reality here.
 
VanceMack said:
Typical leftist tripe from people that arent filing anything but the EZ.

"What? You mean I have less taxes taken from my check and the government isnt GIVING me money? Thats not FAIR!!! I was told the government gives money to RICH people...why wont they give it to ME?"

Oh, baby...no...see...it doesnt work that way. When the government lets you KEEP more of what you EARN, thats not the government GIVING you ANYTHING and CERTAINLY not the government stealing pennies from the poor and giving to the rich. Why...anyone that believes THAT would have to be...well....stupid.
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You having fun with that straw man over there?
 
Sand Castle said:
Nicole Kaeding
@NKaeding
·
Dec 26, 2017
I don’t claim that there aren’t some that will have a tax increase (~ 5% in 2018), my point was that there is a giant mismatch between perception and reality here.
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Yes that was point. The lw media tried to create the false impression that people were getting a tax hike.
 
The tax refund did increase the total amount in the bank accounts, after taxes, that 80% or more Americans paid. And the reduction in the AMT pretty well offset the loss of state tax deductions for middle income families in high tax states. So pretty much the only ones who might receive more tax bill over withholding are pretty much the very rich.

Those who have very high medical expenses will have a higher floor before the deductions will be allowed in 2019 and alimony payments will no longer be deductible, so there is an incentive to acquire more insurance and avoid divorce whenever possible.
5 Reasons Most Americans Will See Tax Cuts in 2018 -- The Motley Fool

And the refunds Americans have received or will be receiving on their 2018 tax returns are on a par with previous years even though most Americans had more money in their take home pay.
https://www.gobankingrates.com/taxes/refunds/what-americans-do-with-tax-refund/
 
KLATTU said:
Yes that was point. The lw media tried to create the false impression that people were getting a tax hike.
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Some people are getting a tax hike.
 
Deuce said:
You having fun with that straw man over there?
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No straw man. The loudest voices whining about the tax cuts are people that either arent smart enough apparently to know how taxes work, or dont make enough to be impacted by the tax cuts.

Look...this wasnt complicated. If you wanted a big return at the end of the year, you changed your withholding. Its OK, too. If you think mommy government can hold onto your money better than you can then that probably makes you happy. Hell...that big tax return at the end of the year probably feels like a GIFT to you. But if an individual paid less in taxes, didnt change their withholding, and still expected to get a big tax return, they are an idiot.
 
KLATTU said:
Please retract this misleading post!
"....Roughly 80% of taxpayers did indeed end up owing less in taxes as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, said Nicole Kaeding, director of federal projects at the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan research group. Only about 5% of people will end up paying more, she said."
Many Americans Are Getting Smaller Tax Refunds This Year. Here'''s How to Know If You'''ll Be One of Them

Oh and you know who that 5 %is mostly?

RICH people who din''t get the full SALT deduction.

#EGG#FACE
Click to expand...

Yeah, and some folks who got "less" of a return than they had expected probably never included that extra money they started getting in their paychecks last February into their total tax reduction for the year.
 
jmotivator said:
Yeah, and some folks who got "less" of a return than they had expected probably never included that extra money they started getting in their paychecks last February into their total tax reduction for the year.
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Arguments are easier when you just assume the other person is dumb.
 
dirtpoorchris said:
I think if you can pay 10k emergency money out of nowhere then your probably rich and above middle class.
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If you're managing your finances correctly, you should have a lot more than that in savings. At a family income of a hundred grand, that's only 10% of annual income.
 
Dittohead not! said:
If you're managing your finances correctly, you should have a lot more than that in savings. At a family income of a hundred grand, that's only 10% of annual income.
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Ya id say at least 95% of americans couldnt scrounge together 10k cash if they tried. Most anyone has is like 500 bucks saved up.
 
Yeah, if someone owes over $10K in addition to the taxes withheld throughout the year, then they're in a pretty well-off income bracket.

Not exactly the story of the little guy being screwed that the OP wanted it to be.

(Not even counting the problems with it, as already described, and as being anecdotal.)
 
Deuce said:
Some people are getting a tax hike.
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Very few. And a lot of those are 'the rich' who couldn't take the full SALT deduction.
But that wasn't the narrative the lw media pushed was it?
 
OrphanSlug said:
Why would that be the case?
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Why wouldnt that be the case. You have to have all sorts of crazy tax situations for your refund to be different under the new tax law
 
Crovax said:
Why wouldnt that be the case. You have to have all sorts of crazy tax situations for your refund to be different under the new tax law
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The point being if tax law changed one's withholdings and overall liability both downward then you have little reason to conclude a higher return.
 
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