Why cut taxes?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Yep, from a percent of income perspective, this tax bill will help the lower income earners the most. The millionaires and billionaires get a larger tax break dollarwise, but a much smaller tax break percentagewise. It's a perfect bill for each political party to praise/complain about.

No, not everyone gets a tax break. Check out the NYT graphic on the link posted above. And most of the cuts expire. This is a huge budget-busting gimmick.

[Moliere]

WTF! Look at Laura and Seth... They should be paying $2.5M in taxes and not 3% less!

Yep, from a percent of income perspective, this tax bill will help the lower income earners the most. The millionaires and billionaires get a larger tax break dollarwise, but a much smaller tax break percentagewise. It's a perfect bill for each political party to praise/complain about.

[Uncle Ted]

#GOPTaxScam!

Today, we gather on this floor in the midst of a holy season. In this season we celebrate the miraculous blessings of God. We reflect on the wondrous joy of children and our responsibility to them. We remember our duty to live justly. And for those of us blessed to serve in this Congress, we must remember our special responsibility to govern fairly, to meet the needs of all of God’s children. In this holy time, the moral obscenity and unrepentant greed of the GOP tax scam stands out even more clearly.
[...]
This GOP tax scam is simply theft, monumental, brazen theft from the American middle class and from every person who aspires to reach it. the GOP tax scam is not a vote for an investment in growth or jobs. It is a vote to install a permanent plutocracy in our nation. They’ll be cheering that later. It does violence to the vision of our Founders. It disrespects the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, who are a large part of our middle class and to whom we owe a future worthy of their sacrifice. And it betrays the future and betrays the aspirations of our children.

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[Uncle Ted]

WTF! Look at Laura and Seth... They should be paying $2.5M in taxes and not 3% less!

[PaloAltoCougar]

I've mentioned it before (and it doesn't mean I support this tax bill; I haven't studied it enough to have an opinion), but why should the federal tax code effectively subsidize high state and local tax rates?

Why provide a deduction for state and local taxes or mortgage interest at all? It bugs me that those beneath the thresholds smugly conclude that deductions up to those points are fair and just, but anything over are excessive and must end. I say end them all. Meanwhile, we Californians will shoulder an even more disproportionate share of the federal tax burden while most of the red staters bear an even smaller one. And to think some of them wish we'd secede. Knuckleheads.

P.S. My mortgage is below the threshold and I've had to pay alt min so that state/local taxes haven't been deductible for me anyway, so my views are untainted by self-interest; I am a statesman.

[Uncle Ted]

While we are at it, why should the federal tax code subsidize those stupid mcmansions? I do like the fact that the mortgage deduction limit has been lowered.

Yeah, I don't understand why they raised that from $500,000 to $750,000. Maybe for Senator Feinstein would have less counties in her state that have average house prices above the cut off and less to b*tch about on twitter.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I've mentioned it before (and it doesn't mean I support this tax bill; I haven't studied it enough to have an opinion), but why should the federal tax code effectively subsidize high state and local tax rates?

I get that argument, but I am sure the calculus they used factored in that the states with highest state/local taxes are also blue states, so why not hit them hard?

While we are at it, why should the federal tax code subsidize those stupid mcmansions? I do like the fact that the mortgage deduction limit has been lowered.

[Omaha 680]

You mean the two states with high state/local taxes that will therefor bear a disproportionate share of the burden from this bill? Yeah, not surprising.

I've mentioned it before (and it doesn't mean I support this tax bill; I haven't studied it enough to have an opinion), but why should the federal tax code effectively subsidize high state and local tax rates?

[Uncle Ted]

You mean the two states with high state/local taxes that will therefor bear a disproportionate share of the burden from this bill? Yeah, not surprising.

I noticed they modified the SALT (State And Local Tax) part of the bill... You can now deduct up to $10K of your SALT including income, sales, or property taxes. I am not sure if it can be a combination of all SALTs or just one (don't care). Before it was only property tax. Of course, those poor people that live in states that have high everything taxes are screwed as long as they continue residing in those states. They might even be forced to sell their million dollar, silicon valley homes (those spacious 3 bedroom, 2 bath ones) and have to move. Of course, prices on homes above $750K or so will most likely take a hit in value.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Nearly on the GOP'ers that voted nay are from CA, NJ, and NY:

CA-48 Dana Rohrabacher N
CA-49 Darrell Issa N
NC-3 Walter B. Jones N
NJ-2 Frank A. LoBiondo N
NJ-4 Christopher H. Smith N
NJ-7 Leonard Lance N
NJ-11 Rodney Frelinghuysen N
NY-1 Lee Zeldin N
NY-2 Peter T. King N
NY-11 Dan Donovan N
NY-19 John J. Faso N
NY-21 Elise Stefanik N

I would have never guessed.

You mean the two states with high state/local taxes that will therefor bear a disproportionate share of the burden from this bill? Yeah, not surprising.

[Uncle Ted]

House passes tax bill. Zero democrats voted for it and twelve republicans voted against it. I guess they will still call it a victory. Yeesh.

Nearly on the GOP'ers that voted nay are from CA, NJ, and NY:

CA-48 Dana Rohrabacher N
CA-49 Darrell Issa N
NC-3 Walter B. Jones N
NJ-2 Frank A. LoBiondo N
NJ-4 Christopher H. Smith N
NJ-7 Leonard Lance N
NJ-11 Rodney Frelinghuysen N
NY-1 Lee Zeldin N
NY-2 Peter T. King N
NY-11 Dan Donovan N
NY-19 John J. Faso N
NY-21 Elise Stefanik N

I would have never guessed.

[Jeff Lebowski]

House passes tax bill. Zero democrats voted for it and twelve republicans voted against it. I guess they will still call it a victory. Yeesh.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I thought you were all for the rich paying more taxes.

"There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."

[Uncle Ted]

$8K tax increase for me based on last year's taxes. :swear:

I thought you were all for the rich paying more taxes.

[Green Monstah]

My salary last year was much more than this year due to some taxable relocation benefits, but if I assume I made the same last year as this year , my effective tax rate goes down by less than 1%.