CA man just did his taxes... apples to apples comparison

originally posted by: TheLead
a reply to: Vector99

No he didnt? He just stated the accumulative of state, local, and federal. Spock was saying he needs to break it down to actually determine the increase or decrease in only federal taxes.

Yes, he did, he filed a short form and saw a tax break. That is all stated in the OP.

He stated clearly that he paid LESS in taxes this year, in Calinfornistan of all places...

Learn to read

originally posted by: scraedtosleep
a reply to: Vector99

It's 10 years,

Proof?

Seriously?

Has ATS become this dumb?

a reply to: rickymouse

That's where we're at.

We got back a slightly smaller return than our average, but our take home pay was much better than usual all year. So do the math and we came out better off. You just don't see the dramatic difference because it was spread out over the course of the year.

Of course, we don't live in a high property tax state where the cap on state tax deductions made sure we had to pay a lot more either.

a reply to: ketsuko

It's because people have become reliant on the US government for an annual 'bonus'.

That money was their's all along but they couldn't touch it. Well they could have if they knew how to fill out a damn tax form, but...I digress

I will simply say to the ignorant people in this thread that taxes were indeed lowered, and basing your tax return to determine whether you paid more in taxes in just dumb as f--k.

The OP is 100% correct, the little guy in this case paid less taxes.

This will be an issue in 2026, when it comes up for renewal..

a reply to: Vector99

We never have relied on the tax return as more than a small bump during the month. The bonus is the actual bonus which comes later in spring.

In reality when dealing with smaller incomes the changes won't be very large.

Also the child tax credit was a major portion of the tax reform, why skyrocketed my return.

a reply to: ketsuko

I get that, but this OP was from the perspective of an individual that filed a short form, and they saw a smaller tax burden. I don't understand how anyone can complain about paying less taxes. Well, I can, but the people screaming for more taxes dont pay the taxes that pay them...

It's the new platform of democrats, don't wanna work? We'll tax someone that does so you can stay in mom's basement forever...

originally posted by: Vector99
a reply to: ketsuko

I get that, but this OP was from the perspective of an individual that filed a short form, and they saw a smaller tax burden. I don't understand how anyone can complain about paying less taxes. Well, I can, but the people screaming for more taxes dont pay the taxes that pay them...

It's the new platform of democrats, don't wanna work? We'll tax someone that does so you can stay in mom's basement forever...

It's not their new platform. I thought that was always their platform. Nothing else about their policies ever made any sense. You can't give people extravagantly expensive stuff for free without someone having to pay more taxes.

Seriously, there are a thousand ways to spin the tax break in a way that it will "look" that taxes increased but overall in reality taxes are down, I paid 10% less for 2018.

a reply to: jgarc028

It absolutely doesn't matter what you pay in taxes. WHAT DOES MATTER is the purchasing power of your take home pay:

Purchasing Power of the Consumer Dollar

I love the American people but we are not the best at math. If your wages increase less than inflation you are taking a pay cut. Wages are much more important piece of the equation than just what you pay in taxes.

What you really need to track very closely is not the 1% change in your federal taxes you hate so much but how much your healthcare insurance copays and out-of-pocket expenses have gone up. That's were you took a pay-cut this year!!!

originally posted by: manuelram16
Seriously, there are a thousand ways to spin the tax break in a way that it will "look" that taxes increased but overall in reality taxes are down, I paid 10% less for 2018.

My dropped by a pretty good amount also. But I'm getting killed on healthcare costs.

originally posted by: jgarc028

i am paying less in taxes overall this year. nothing has changed from last Year to this year on my end, other then me making more money. im happy to pay less in taxes" even if it's a miniscule amount

I make more than you and so I paid about 6k less this year and it is the first time I qualified for child tax credit as they moved it from about 130k to 400k so I got 2500 more back from that too. This is just federal so maybe you should compare just federal to see apples to apples...What if your great state increased state and local taxes?

just wondering where you are? just state is fine.

a reply to: MisterSpock

a reply to: jgarc028

Hey … I am truly happy you paid less. I wish everyone could pay less in taxes, because I think our state and federal governments completely waste our tax dollars without regard, like drunken sailors. (no offense to drunken sailors!!)

I paid more overall, though I paid less federal tax to the IRS, my unfortunate state of Illinois charged me enough more to cause a net increase in my taxes.

Thanks Illinois … I'll be seeing you in the rearview mirror when I retire. You would need to be a fool to retire in Illinois hahaha

originally posted by: MisterSpock
If you cared at all about taxes you wouldn't live in california.

At 15 dollars an hour you could move anywhere in the country and get a job that equals your pay, but would probably drop your living costs by 50+ percent.

Around here you could work at burger king(they start at 15 dollars). apartments are around 800 and you can buy a house for 150k.

I'm assuming that's no where near what california costs.

in california I make $30/hr at my job...I've looked into other states because I would move in a heartbeat...cost of living may be much less but pay would also be less...i one state I looked at it was $18/hr for the job I am doing now. Maybe I will move on up and make $40/hr, then we will be able to afford a two bedroom shack lol

a reply to: AnonymousMoose

Eh, cost of living might surprise you.

In order to hold steady in QoL, husband would have to make 1/3 again what he's making now for us to move to Cali. So, yeah, you may make less, but cost of living usually is going to even you out.

originally posted by: dfnj2015

originally posted by: manuelram16
Seriously, there are a thousand ways to spin the tax break in a way that it will "look" that taxes increased but overall in reality taxes are down, I paid 10% less for 2018.

My dropped by a pretty good amount also. But I'm getting killed on healthcare costs.

So as the rest of America, thanks to Obamacare and the BIG malpractice insurance companies/lawyers

originally posted by: MisterSpock
If you cared at all about taxes you wouldn't live in california.

At 15 dollars an hour you could move anywhere in the country and get a job that equals your pay, but would probably drop your living costs by 50+ percent.

Around here you could work at burger king(they start at 15 dollars). apartments are around 800 and you can buy a house for 150k.

I'm assuming that's no where near what california costs.

Where?