Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Politics and Other Controversies
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 11-10-2012, 12:48 PM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,488,465 times
Reputation: 35920

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by UNC4Me View Post
My husband and I make almost exactly the same amount every year. And yes, we always used to get caught in the marriage penalty. And some years in the AMT as well. And we will again once the tax cuts expire.
OMG, the AMT! The tax that's supposed to catch people who use all sorts of deductions to avoid paying taxes.

[MOD CUT/off topic]
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 11-10-2012, 12:57 PM
 
11,412 posts, read 7,769,043 times
Reputation: 21922
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katiana View Post
OMG, the AMT! The tax that's supposed to catch people who use all sorts of deductions to avoid paying taxes.

[MOD CUT/off topic]
No, the AMT tax that was supposed to catch the wealthy who use all sorts of deductions. Since it hasn't been adjusted for inflation, the AMT now catches almost 60% of those earning 30k to 100k. Not exactly the wealthy. And it even gets applied to some taxpayers earning less than 30k. So, yeah, I think the AMT stinks.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-10-2012, 12:57 PM
 
41,111 posts, read 25,671,868 times
Reputation: 13868
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katiana View Post
OMG, the AMT! The tax that's supposed to catch people who use all sorts of deductions to avoid paying taxes.

[MOD CUT/off topic]
You might be laughing but many people will not be. This tax was a "tax the rich tax. goes what in 2012, it was not in effect but now it is. belwo is who will pay. Enjoy

AMT Exemption Amounts for 2012

The alternative minimum tax exemption amounts for 2012 are scheduled to revert to the following levels:
$33,750 for single and head of household filers,
$45,000 for married people filing jointly and for qualifying widows or widowers, and
$22,500 for married people filing separately.
Source: Code Section 55(d)(1). Lower exemption levels mean that more taxpayers will be subject to the alternative minimum tax calculations.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-10-2012, 12:59 PM
 
47,525 posts, read 69,570,473 times
Reputation: 22474
Quote:
Originally Posted by nana053 View Post
There are NO such things as death panels in the legislation.

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/a...are-fact-check



This claim was made throughout the campaign and it is NONSENSE

In fact, the law specifically forbids rationing or restriction of benefits, and the board is quite limited in the scope of the binding, cost-saving recommendations it is allowed to make.

According to the text of the Affordable Care Act, the board can’t restrict benefits or eligibility, increase premiums or taxes, or “ration” health care. And a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis said that the IPAB would be effectively restricted to finding savings from “Medicare Advantage, the Part D prescription drug program, skilled nursing facility, home health, dialysis, ambulance and ambulatory surgical center services, and durable medical equipment.”
Oh yeah -- Obama clarified all that -- you are not to call them death "panels" but instead "independent commissions". They will do the same thing -- decide if the elderly can be given health care of will be left to die.


Obama Death Panels Save Lives - YouTube
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-10-2012, 01:00 PM
 
Location: Whoville....
25,386 posts, read 35,469,728 times
Reputation: 14692
Quote:
Originally Posted by UNC4Me View Post
No, the AMT tax that was supposed to catch the wealthy who use all sorts of deductions. Since it hasn't been adjusted for inflation, the AMT now catches almost 60% of those earning 30k to 100k. Not exactly the wealthy. And it even gets applied to some taxpayers earning less than 30k. So, yeah, I think the AMT stinks.
Dh and I are not wealthy but we pay the AMT every year even with me being a teacher and shelling out several hundred dollars per year for my classroom and taking classes to keep my certs. We're just over $100K.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-10-2012, 01:05 PM
 
11,412 posts, read 7,769,043 times
Reputation: 21922
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ivorytickler View Post
Dh and I are not wealthy but we pay the AMT every year even with me being a teacher and shelling out several hundred dollars per year for my classroom and taking classes to keep my certs. We're just over $100K.
That's why it needs to be indexed for inflation. You and I are not the high fliers the AMT was meant to catch. We're just the schmucks who get to pay for the Congress and Senate's failure to correct the situation on a permanent basis.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-10-2012, 01:12 PM
 
17,183 posts, read 22,839,457 times
Reputation: 17473
[quote=malamute;26894761]Oh yeah -- Obama clarified all that -- you are not to call them death "panels" but instead "independent commissions". They will do the same thing -- decide if the elderly can be given health care of will be left to die.

Not what the commissions will do. You need to read the text of the law. Honestly, people who have been complaining don't read the actual law at all.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-10-2012, 01:15 PM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,488,465 times
Reputation: 35920
Quote:
Originally Posted by petch751 View Post
You might be laughing but many people will not be. This tax was a "tax the rich tax. goes what in 2012, it was not in effect but now it is. belwo is who will pay. Enjoy

AMT Exemption Amounts for 2012

The alternative minimum tax exemption amounts for 2012 are scheduled to revert to the following levels:
$33,750 for single and head of household filers,
$45,000 for married people filing jointly and for qualifying widows or widowers, and
$22,500 for married people filing separately.
Source: Code Section 55(d)(1). Lower exemption levels mean that more taxpayers will be subject to the alternative minimum tax calculations.
Alternative Minimum Tax - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) is an income tax imposed by the United States federal government on individuals, corporations, estates, and trusts. AMT is imposed at a nearly flat rate on an adjusted amount of taxable income above a certain threshold (also known as exemption). This exemption is substantially higher than the exemption from regular income tax.

Regular taxable income is adjusted for certain items computed differently for AMT, such as depreciation and medical expenses. No deduction is allowed for state taxes or miscellaneous itemized deductions in computing AMT income. Taxpayers with incomes above the exemption whose regular Federal income tax is below the amount of AMT must pay the higher AMT amount.

A predecessor Minimum Tax, enacted in 1969, imposed an additional tax on certain tax benefits for certain taxpayers. The present AMT was enacted in 1982 and limits tax benefits from a variety of deductions. The thresholds at which AMT begins to apply are not automatically adjusted for inflation, as are regular tax thresholds, but Congress has made frequent legislative adjustments.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-10-2012, 01:29 PM
 
488 posts, read 411,934 times
Reputation: 238
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheEternalSanctuaryMan
There is so much fat in those budgets that one can't seriously call them 'non-profits' so much as tax shelters with high executive salaries & dedicated fan bases won by brilliant marketing campaigns.

As an employee of a nonprofit organization, all I can say is ... I wish.


Quote:
If personal contributions died off, they would rely more on corporate partnerships & civic revenues and religious tithing.
Corporate partnerships are down, and they rarely benefit organizations that work with the truly poor. Also, where do you think the money from civic revenues and religious tithing comes from ... personal contributions, perhaps?


Quote:
Local charities can just get more federal & state & local funding
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

Perhaps you should move on up to big-time celebrated charities? That's where the money is. The poor are not glamourous or conducive to aiding, say, the health industrial complex like Komen or Livestrong do.

As for state & local funding for local organizations, yes! More taxation to provide more funding to help the increasing numbers of those in need. That's the purpose of municipal/state government: taking care of people who are local. Since tax deductions are grossly abused (really, they are) direct cobtributions taken directly from wages administered by civic officials dispersed to local charities would be the most direct way to properly fund local charities. Everyone knows that the only reason people contribute are for the needed tax breaks. Guilt trips or empathy round those donations out, but not by much.

Last edited by TheEternalSanctuaryMan; 11-10-2012 at 01:39 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-10-2012, 01:38 PM
 
488 posts, read 411,934 times
Reputation: 238
Can someone point out why tax breaks are given for married couples? Is it simply traditional habit and or a de facto monetary support for a cultural institution deemed necessary and deserves a bonus when done?

I can see a small obligatory tax break for newborns up to maybe 5-6 years old, but why subsidize children & other dependents until they no longer be listed as dependents? That sort of arithmetic seems easy to abuse for fraudulent claims via tax refunds or unremitted tax revenue. Honestly, if the government must subsidize child-rearing why procreate if you can't afford to?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Politics and Other Controversies
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:52 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top