Trump's tax bill: US Senate passes reform legislation

[Stephen + 67]

The US Senate has approved the most sweeping overhaul of the US tax system in more than three decades. Republicans say the tax cuts for corporations, small businesses and individuals will boost economic growth. Democrats, who all voted against it, say it is designed to benefit the ultra-rich at the expense of the national deficit.

[Meanwhile + 49]

I think Republicans missed an opportunity to really reform taxes and simplify the tax code. 

[Stephen + 67]

Just now, Meanwhile said:

I think Republicans missed an opportunity to really reform taxes and simplify the tax code. 

They so oversold this, and they could pay politically for it.

 

[JohnAtronis + 78]

Market prices are affected by taxes, but not as much as Republicans strong state.

[Stephen + 67]

Polls show a sizable majority of Americans are against the bill, with many believing it will benefit wealthy taxpayers and companies while providing token tax reductions for middle-class people. The non-partisan Tax Policy Center of Washington confirmed those fears Monday when it concluded that middle-income households will save an average of $900 in taxes in 2018 while those households with annual incomes ranging from $308,000 to $733,000 would save about $50,000 next year in taxes. The same report calculated that 80 percent of American households will save taxes next year, 5 percent would face a tax increase and the rest would pay about the same. The bill could also lead to tax increases for upper middle-income Americans who own expensive homes in Ohio as well as the high tax states of California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Maryland.

[Meanwhile + 49]

This is the largest transfer of wealth in our history. 

[Joanna + 68]

2 minutes ago, Stephen said:

Polls show a sizable majority of Americans are against the bill, with many believing it will benefit wealthy taxpayers and companies while providing token tax reductions for middle-class people. The non-partisan Tax Policy Center of Washington confirmed those fears Monday when it concluded that middle-income households will save an average of $900 in taxes in 2018 while those households with annual incomes ranging from $308,000 to $733,000 would save about $50,000 next year in taxes. The same report calculated that 80 percent of American households will save taxes next year, 5 percent would face a tax increase and the rest would pay about the same. The bill could also lead to tax increases for upper middle-income Americans who own expensive homes in Ohio as well as the high tax states of California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Maryland.

It lowers taxes for wealthy corporations and people making over $1 million. How does it help middle class or poor?

[JohnAtronis + 78]

3 minutes ago, Stephen said:

Polls show a sizable majority of Americans are against the bill, with many believing it will benefit wealthy taxpayers and companies while providing token tax reductions for middle-class people. The non-partisan Tax Policy Center of Washington confirmed those fears Monday when it concluded that middle-income households will save an average of $900 in taxes in 2018 while those households with annual incomes ranging from $308,000 to $733,000 would save about $50,000 next year in taxes. The same report calculated that 80 percent of American households will save taxes next year, 5 percent would face a tax increase and the rest would pay about the same. The bill could also lead to tax increases for upper middle-income Americans who own expensive homes in Ohio as well as the high tax states of California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Maryland.

It also increases the standard deduction for people with modest incomes - - the Middle Class and Working Class.

[Meanwhile + 49]

4 minutes ago, Stephen said:

Polls show a sizable majority of Americans are against the bill, with many believing it will benefit wealthy taxpayers and companies while providing token tax reductions for middle-class people. The non-partisan Tax Policy Center of Washington confirmed those fears Monday when it concluded that middle-income households will save an average of $900 in taxes in 2018 while those households with annual incomes ranging from $308,000 to $733,000 would save about $50,000 next year in taxes. The same report calculated that 80 percent of American households will save taxes next year, 5 percent would face a tax increase and the rest would pay about the same. The bill could also lead to tax increases for upper middle-income Americans who own expensive homes in Ohio as well as the high tax states of California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Maryland.

Debt is what happens when expenditures exceed income. What Democrats excel at.

 

 

[Rodent + 1,424]

7 minutes ago, Meanwhile said:

I think Republicans missed an opportunity to really reform taxes and simplify the tax code. 

AMEN

[Stephen + 67]

7 minutes ago, Stephen said:

They so oversold this, and they could pay politically for it.

 

35% trump approval rating

25% approval rating for the tax cuts

So, how is this a win?

[JohnAtronis + 78]

1 minute ago, Stephen said:

35% trump approval rating

25% approval rating for the tax cuts

So, how is this a win?

They just don't believe the polls.

[Stephen + 67]

Congress has never passed legislation this unpopular

[Rodent + 1,424]

I'm just surprised congress passed anything at all. 

[Joanna + 68]

Well, this is important. US companies didn't take their operations abroad because of taxes. They did it for cheap labor. I am afraid that nothing in this tax plan will make them to move back to US

 

[Rodent + 1,424]

As surprised as I am that they passed anything at all, I'm a little disappointed in that they didn't go farther. I wasn't holding my breath or anything, because God forbid anyone push politics aside to get something done. 

That said, to make the naive statement that it "just helps the rich" and stop there is a bit disingenuous. I'm guessing most people, if asked, including those who cry foul of the deal, couldn't tell you what's in the reform. They just know they've been told it's not good for them. 

Agree with it, disagree with it--fine. Like it, hate it, love it. Whatever. Just stop regurgitating someone else's thoughts. The existing tax code is a huge monstrosity that spans almost 80,000 pages (pages, not words). It's stupidly complex. 

As for what's in this go around, the child tax credit is now refundable. The ONLY people that a refundable credit helps are people who don't pay any taxes at all--the bottom of the barrel in wage earners. This bracket will now be able to get a refund when they are not even paying a cent. Who do you suppose pays the tax to offset that?? (Hint: not the poor)

the child tax credit was $1,000 per child. Now it's $2000, and $1,400 of it is fully refundable. For a family with two kids, that's $2,000 extra dollars in taxes not paid (or if they make low enough, a $2,800 difference). That's a BIG deal for someone  making $25K. In fact, as the laws of math allow, that's more than a 10% bump. Yes, even people who DON'T PAY TAXES are benefiting from the "tax reduction" bill. 

There's a lot more to the bill, yes, including corporate tax breaks and breaks for the upperclass too. For the first couple of years, EVERYONE will get a break. 8% or so according to the JTC. 

Cutting the tax rate will surely bring companies back to the US (no, not all of them). The break for corporations is significant. 

[Seleskya + 50]

I doubt anyone really bothers to read the details. Only people who have accountants (meaning, people with a bit of money and a reason to have an accountant) will actually understand what the tax bill means. It's going to be a complicated tax season. 

[JohnAtronis + 78]

we should all beware of fine print. However, I see this as waste of our time and waste of their mandate. Why don't they just copy for instance Norway's tax policy or even better their health care. You know, Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Canada are the top three happiest countries

[Joanna + 68]

have to check where is US on that list

[JohnAtronis + 78]

The US ranked 15th in the world, one below Mexico and three below Costa Rica, where per capita GDP is roughly a fifth of that in the US

[Stephen + 67]

Just now, JohnAtronis said:

The US ranked 15th in the world, one below Mexico and three below Costa Rica, where per capita GDP is roughly a fifth of that in the US

so it's not all about the money

[Joanna + 68]

So if we just ignore tax bill news, stay away from local media and politics, it would drastically improve our happiness ranking 

[Marina Schwarz + 1,576]

10 hours ago, Stephen said:

so it's not all about the money

It most certainly isn't. It's about mentality. The Nordic peoples have apparently developed the right kind of mentality.

[Rodent + 1,424]

 

3 hours ago, Marina Schwarz said:

It most certainly isn't. It's about mentality. The Nordic peoples have apparently developed the right kind of mentality.

Yeah, I think that statistic that ranks happy places in the world is reflective more about the attitude of contentment. Americans are largely dissatisfied in general--happiness is a choice, and it often has nothing to do with circumstances or money. You can be unhappy or happy, regardless of circumstances--a choice.You can either boo-hoo about everything that you don't have or everything that didn't go your way, or you can be grateful for what you do have and what went right.