Barbara Comstock says $250K is not rich in NoVA (Washington: buy, calculation)

[tysonsengineer]

Originally Posted by spencgr

You assume I can take a lot more deductions that I actually can.

Well no, thats a whole other thing. But a person in the 33% bracket doesnt pay 33%. You pay the cumulation of the 15%, 22%, 28%, and the 33%. So only the money you make beyond the 28% bracket is actually taxed at 33%.

So I was asking if you paid 33% or if your bracket was 33%.

[tysonsengineer]

Originally Posted by Yankeesfan

I never said anything about whether you pay your fair share or not. You're the one who is advocating for people to pay more, and talking about how willing you are to do it. Couldn't be simpler, just write the check and put it in the mail. Action, not rhetoric .

I didnt say pay more, I said stop paying less.

Theres a difference, maybe you don't recognize that.

Paying more implies they are paying their fair share today. Stop paying less is more accurate as they received what equated to a bail out during Bush and the first 3 years of Obama due to the GOP forcing it to remain.

See the difference? Now that I realize I am actually paying that rate, I am proposing MY tax bracket pay their fair share as they (wasnt in the bracket during clinton) did in the 90s. I understand you say I go ahead and pay the extra 3% now, as I said that difference I essentially already have paid by not taking my charitable deduction. So there, I actually already have done what you are asking. Got any other cheap dumb talking points or are you ready to pay your fair share too? Guess what, I didnt notice the missing hundreds of dollars, and that extra hundreds of dollars didnt get me to create any new jobs. I bought the same things I would have because a few hundred dollars on a post tax income of upper 100s thousands makes NO difference, it just sits in the bank.

[FindingZen]

Final advisory that keeping comments NOVA-centric will maximize the life of the thread.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by tysonsengineer

Well no, thats a whole other thing. But a person in the 33% bracket doesnt pay 33%. You pay the cumulation of the 15%, 22%, 28%, and the 33%. So only the money you make beyond the 28% bracket is actually taxed at 33%.

So I was asking if you paid 33% or if your bracket was 33%.

I paid 26.79% on an income slightly above the $250K, which certainly does NOT make me wealthy in this NOVA area.

Comfortable? Yes
Meeting my needs? Absolutely
Wealthy? Not a chance at this point.

Possibly if I have 20+ years of this income, I can make some great investments that could classify me as wealthy; but as a couple who just moved above this level (and three years ago made less than half this income), we are most definitely not wealthy.

[tysonsengineer]

Originally Posted by spencgr

I paid 26.79% on an income slightly above the $250K, which certainly does NOT make me wealthy in this NOVA area.

Comfortable? Yes
Meeting my needs? Absolutely
Wealthy? Not a chance at this point.

Possibly if I have 20+ years of this income, I can make some great investments that could classify me as wealthy; but as a couple who just moved above this level (and three years ago made less than half this income), we are most definitely not wealthy.

Ok so maybe this is an issue of my not defining in my original post my thoughts on wealthy.

Wealthy is an indication of cumulative instantaneous wealth. Hence why I viewed the scenario under the 5 and 10 year scope. So 250k doesnt make you "instant wealthy" no that I agree. Frankly you need about 1.5 million instantly to call yourself "wealthy".

What it does is make it possible for 5 years of normal living in this area, or 10 years, to turn you into a "wealthy person". I dont think I am wealthy either and I basically make that amount (in the ballpark). But I know that at this rate in 5 years I will be quite wealthy. I know in 10 years I will be even more wealthy and frankly at that point I will be rich. No mortgage, nearly a million in liquidable cash assets, a strong retirement fund.

I'm sorry for taking this discussion off track, but I felt I needed to clarify that. PS I am one of the biggest supporters of capitalism, business, and free market in this area and don't support nor object to Comstock or any particular party. I care about the party which invests in NOVAs future whoever it is.

[Yankeesfan]

Originally Posted by tysonsengineer

Last year my charitable contributions were $1400 none of which went on my return because I believe that was my choice to donate to causes who deserve it but does not relieve me of my civic duty.

I paid 22.5% on 220k (Which puts me in the 33% tax bracket btw... same as those making 250k in taxable income) for 49,500 to the US Government. What did you pay hotshots?

The average annual charitable contribution total for Fairfax County residents is 5%. So your 2/3s of 1% is running a little behind. However if you can double that this year you'll be almost at Joe Biden's 2011 total of 1.5% . I guess that not taking your deduction at 33% would be not quite $500; but you advocated back on page 5 that a family making $250,000 a year should pay an extra $600 a month in taxes. I realize you're not quite at $250,000 but as you said you're in the ballpark, and the less than $500 in deductions you didn't take doesn't quite make up for the $7200 in extra taxes you've advocated.

[tysonsengineer]

Originally Posted by Yankeesfan

The average annual charitable contribution total for Fairfax County residents is 5%. So your 2/3s of 1% is running a little behind. However if you can double that this year you'll be almost at Joe Biden's 2011 total of 1.5% . I guess that not taking your deduction at 33% would be not quite $500; but you advocated back on page 5 that a family making $250,000 a year should pay an extra $600 a month in taxes. I realize you're not quite at $250,000 but as you said you're in the ballpark, and the less than $500 in deductions you didn't take doesn't quite make up for the $7200 in extra taxes you've advocated.

That was corrected about 3 pages ago, its 3% on the taxes not 3% on the income increase being debated. Try to keep up.

PS low blow on the charity donation, many donations that equate to 5% go to tithing and religious donation. I am a-religious. I donate to good causes, and 1400 in a year is nothing to scoff at. Thanks though. Wanna tell us how much you donated last year to charity and what it went for? I am always on the look out for good charities in this area who effectively use donated funds.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by tysonsengineer

I am a-religious. I donate to good causes, and 1400 in a year is nothing to scoff at. Thanks though. Wanna tell us how much you donated last year to charity and what it went for? I am always on the look out for good charities in this area who effectively use donated funds.

I, too, am a-religious. With that, that doesn't negate the amount one ( who is in a position to) should donate. My donations in 2011 were about $6000, which, I feel, is actually an embarrassing low percentage for the amount I made. I have vowed to donate more. (for the record, I only claimed $1500).

Anyway, $1400 is lot of money, but a very small amount for someone who makes your salary and also feels that they are in a position to easily pay more taxes. If a few hundred dollars doesn't mean much to you, you should beef up your charitable donations.

[Yankeesfan]

Originally Posted by tysonsengineer

PS low blow on the charity donation, many donations that equate to 5% go to tithing and religious donation. I am a-religious. I donate to good causes, and 1400 in a year is nothing to scoff at. Thanks though. Wanna tell us how much you donated last year to charity and what it went for? I am always on the look out for good charities in this area who effectively use donated funds.

Not really, you chose to share details with the world on the internet. And I agree, it's nothing to scoff at, but we were reminded to keep it NoVa-specific, hence the comparison. Regarding your question, I'll just say it was much higher, in terms of total amount, percentage of income, and amount given to organizations other than church.

[ACWhite]

I believe the proposal calls for 3% on the TAXABLE INCOME (AFTER all deductions) over $250K (maybe it's adjusted gross income, which is higher, but I think it's taxable income). The proposal would not add the 3% for the taxable income under $250K. So a family with $250K in taxable income would not pay anything additional under the proposal. If the family had $270K in taxable income, then it would pay 3% more tax on the final $20K, or about $600 per year. See: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/07...0000-bush.html

If anyone has a link showing that FFX Co residents donate 5% of income (gross? AGI? taxable?) BEYOND what they give to churches or other religious institutions, I'd be interested in seeing that, if it isn't too far off-topic. I found one article (http://fairfaxcity.patch.com/article...tions-49a7bd8c) but it included church etc. donations. National studies show that contributions to one's own church do make up a high percentage of deducted contributions. Since we are focused here on NOVA I won't link the national info.