OT Do you pay more or less in taxes under the new tax rates and deductions

I've lived in Ohio, Utah, and Virginia at various points so yeah I know how that works.

Reply to
bitrex
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Rephrase: in the US nearly universally regardless of administration or location the 40-60k bracket is a shitty income bracket to be in. Too "wealthy" to take advantage of the "hand up" (or "hand out", depending on your point of view) that the poor get, too poor to take advantage of all the breaks that the wealthy "job creators" get. Get neither the sympathy that the plight of the very poor tends to elicit in most normal humans, nor have the overwhelming political clout that the wealthy do.

I don't see that a lot has changed under the Trump tax plan.

Reply to
bitrex

While I was in college, I worked (wife didn't) got married, bought a house, and we had two cars and three motorcycles. In New Orleans, that was possible.

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John Larkin         Highland Technology, Inc 

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Reply to
John Larkin

James lived and worked in New Orleans for a while. I think he's in Tennessee now.

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John Larkin         Highland Technology, Inc 

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John Larkin

Vehicles, homes, and college are three of the big ones where costs have enormously outstripped the rate of inflation (and wage increases.) Even a good used car with 60k on the clock is going to run the better part of

10k - where is the average college student in 2k18 going to get ten grand from?

But it's not that you won't encounter many college students living in their own small homes or $1500/month apartments with new or good used cars today, either. If you ask them what they do for work they'll tell you that they wait tables or do tutoring or work in their parent's business or something. That's the story, for public consumption, which they tell "older people."

They'll tell younger people something closer to the truth which is that Mom and Dad are comping a lot of the expense. Don't know how it works elsewhere, but in New England at least for the most part kids don't just come out and tell you "Oh yeah, my Dad is helping me pay for that car." Doesn't make it any less true or less common

Reply to
bitrex

Why does a average college student need a car?

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

I can't speak for _all_ of Vermont, but I rather enjoyed Burlington during my multiple trips to IBM.

Actually got stranded there one winter during a bad storm. Did dinner and Christmas caroling at the culinary institute... very nice ;-) ...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson                                 |    mens     | 
| Analog Innovations                               |     et      | 
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Jim Thompson

To drive between class and home and work?

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John Larkin

Cuz a lot of them still live at home!

Reply to
bitrex

I don't believe _any_ of the new regs affect TY2017 taxes. Only TY2018 tax and withholding rates. ...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson                                 |    mens     | 
| Analog Innovations                               |     et      | 
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Reply to
Jim Thompson

Actually, I did a gig in 2017 where I was required to be a temporary W2 employee (a company scared off by all the IRS implied-nasties regarding contractors).

Might be enough FICA withholdings to get me past the self-employment cut-off, thus lowering my out-of-pocket tax ;-) ...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson                                 |    mens     | 
| Analog Innovations                               |     et      | 
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Jim Thompson

I understand that. What I did was just an exorcise. I just calculated what my taxes would have been for 2016, using the 2018 income taxes. It was just to estimate how the 2018 tax rates and deductions would affect my taxes.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

Used cars were cheap until Cash-for-Clunkers. They are only now coming back down. But there are places all over America where you can buy a nice house for ~$500 a month at current rates.

Here--loads of decent college-kid cars in your area for $4-5k:

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From working? And buying a less-expensive car, sharing, etc. Adjusted for inflation, I saved lots more than that years back, both for tuition, rent, and to buy my first car.

Of course the government was smaller then, so I was able to keep more of what I earned and save it. (When you're close to the bone you can't spare a penny, but if you get to keep 10% more you can save every cent.)

Cheers, James Arthur

Reply to
dagmargoodboat

I was just musing. I was making $6760/year from Motorola when I graduated in 1962... that's $55,182/year purchasing power in today's dollars! No wonder I could be married with 2 children, and afford two cars and a house, within two years after graduation.

Within 4 more years I was able to afford a brand new 2800sq.ft. house on an acre in North Scottsdale and a third child on the way.

bitrex should try working for a living... it can be quite productive ;-) ...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson                                 |    mens     | 
| Analog Innovations                               |     et      | 
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Reply to
Jim Thompson

"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

And it keeps your mind from turning into liberal mush.

Reply to
tom

[snip]

Indeed ;-)

Brings back not-so-fond memories of struggling with "income averaging" forms (Schedule G). Remember those days? :-( ...Jim Thompson

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| James E.Thompson                                 |    mens     | 
| Analog Innovations                               |     et      | 
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Reply to
Jim Thompson

Nice place to *visit*. It's a f***ed up place to live (and has only gotten worse).

I lived about a mile from NECI (in the opposite direction from IBM).

Reply to
krw

When I was in college, undergraduates were not allowed to have a car on campus. Even those who lived off-campus (like me) couldn't have a car on campus. Graduate students could have cars, if they could afford parking (which cost more than the car).

Reply to
krw

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