US INCOME TAX!

Someone I paid. I've been using this firm for 15 years and this is their first mistake, and the IRS isn't charging any interest or penalty, so I'm going to let it slide this time, but damn, irritating.

could be a lot worse

http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/analysis-donald-trumps-tax-plan/full

I want to post about this but not clutter up the general mourning/analysis thread.

He wants to increase the standard deduction to $25k (for single people, didn't specify for head of household status whether it would be higher and somewhere between single and married filing joint as is traditionally the case). One of my recurring problems with the tax code is that the cost of living in the U.S. is so varied, and the standard deduction seems based on the cost of living in cheaper areas. Having to explain to someone making $25,000 in San Francisco or NYC that the government doesn't consider them low income because you can live fairly comfortably on that in Tennessee, is not something I enjoy as a tax person.

no kidding

I'm trying to find out how much, under the GOP plan, my taxes will actually be reduced, and the best I can come up with is like, $1k. and I'm pretty high upper middle class incomewise. who is going to see all these big cuts?

Everybody who makes over $415,051 per year who will immediately see their tax rate fall from 39.6% to 25%, for starters

Unless they are a sole proprietor, in which case it drops to 15%

http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonynitti/2016/11/09/president-trump-what-does-it-mean-for-your-tax-bill/#7cc751c4b8b6

That's how you stick it to the elites, duh.

see the thing that was confusing about the trump tax plan is that it mentions "pass through businesses" - a sole proprietor is not a pass through business. Partnerships and S-Corps are pass through businesses. Does he actually mean pass through businesses or all businesses?

if trump doesn't know, then no one else knows. I'm pretty sure he has no clear idea what he's going to ask for, let alone what he'll get from Congress.

the Forbes piece has different information than the taxpolicycenter one. The bracket rates have changed.

Both analyses are arguing that it will encourage people to be independent contractors and not employees, which I don't think is entirely true, and is dependent on income level. Self-employment tax isn't going to go away under this plan, so for those who actually have self-employment income from their businesses, it's the 15% tax + 7.65% (the employer portion of FICA taxes). I guess that's great if you're in a high tax bracket, but for people who would be in the lower brackets, it wouldn't make much difference.

I feel like the reason this point is in his plan is not to encourage small businesses and entrepeneurship, but to give rich real estate investors tax breaks on the income from Real Estate partnerships that currently doesn't benefit from reduced capital gains rates.

will I still be able to deduct tons of shit because I'm a musician and count everything as a 'business expense' outside of my actual high paying day job?

that's all I care about

Yes, and I'm sure the Trump Administration will reduce funding to the IRS for examinations, audits, and enforcement as part of its starve the beast strategy.

another article that only addresses a couple points of the plan

http://www.npr.org/2016/11/13/501739277/who-benefits-from-donald-trumps-tax-plan?