A freind of mine in ROTC had a really funny joke about that:

"You cant ask and you cant tell.....but you CAN accuse!"
I thought it was funny as hell.


If the Pentagon and IRS put some data in front of me and told me they needed to up taxes to buy more GI bill bennies or pay or MRAPs or whatever I would not bat an eye beyond saying something to the effect of "you better not be wasting it on paper-work". Enjoy your rides folks.

I was slightly miffed about paying 47 bucks more this year LOL. Puts it in perspective nicely.

I work for a company that pays me large commisions monthly. you should see what they take out of every check, almost half. At the end of the year I get a big refund, but I wish the gov would quit borrowing my money every month.

You need a more "creative" accountant....fast!

We should all be ashamed of how much money our government steals from people. Joe busts his ass to try to make a decent living. He studies hard to better himself, he works long hours, and he often works out of town for weeks without sleeping in his own bed. He earned it by working hard. He shouldn't have so much of it taken.

And for those of you that think it's just fine that he pays that much, I pity you. Class envy is a device used by politicians to gain control over weak minds.

wow i feel for you Joe, can I ask what kind of business you run? also wtf are you doing with a miata :D

Joe, ballsy of you to post this up. Let's just say, I feel your pain. Anyone who thinks there's a way out of this, there isn't, and the penalty for trying is greater than the value of doing so.

Due to some pretty strange capital gains rules as they relate to depreciation of a business purchase, my effective tax rate is huge. I just hope I can be on the receiving end of the cap gains tax rate benefit in the future.

For me, the big screw I get is just that I will never see any of the thousands I have put into social security. That cash dwarfs anything I have spent on cars for instance. I cant imagine if I was paying that much. From what I can deduce, Joe pays pretty similarly to what people in Canada do. Now thats pretty effing absurd.

yeah, because the last 12-months of investment banking has been so wonderful.

Actually my 401K has gained back a good chunk of what it lost lately. I was down to about 60% of its peak value (and I am diversified as all get otu for all the good that does anymore) and I am now almost back to about 85% of peak value. I would likely be in much better shape if I took a more active role in it and knew WTF I was doing.

+ fucking 1! :crx:

I should have done my taxes a month or two earlier. I am getting back way too much $$$ that I have loaned the govt. Last year I had to write them a ~$3K check, so we increased our withholdings. But this year we get to deduct a full year's worth of mortgage interest and property taxes on the house we bought in '08, our savings earned less since interest rates are even further in the shitter, we took the $1500 tax credit for spiffy new windows, $800 making work pay credit, yadda yadda yadda I'm getting back way too much. Our tax burden will be even lower next year since we are procreating. Time to reduce the withholdings.

Kids make a huge difference. Not only the $1000 credit per kid, but the added deduction, etc. For me it's a $1300 difference or so per year (kid vs no kid). I know as our son was expected in Jan, but showed up in November so we got the unexpectedly larger refund. Of course mortgage interest, property taxes, etc help alot too. I've got my exemptions nearly maxed out at 9 (my employer only allows 10) and I paid $30 this year so I'm about spot on.

My sister has 5 kids. He's an engineer at Michelin and they get a refund no matter what they do to their withholdings. They pay $0 in federal income tax after all the credits.

Joe,

It's a wonderful world in freelance. Most people don't realize how much money is fleeced off the gross paycheck because they can't see the other half that the employer pays, which is money that could have been given to the employee.

With 4 kids I am on the other end of the spectrum, but I don't agree with the current tax system.

Are you working under form W-4? If so, you need to adjust it. The amount of withholding that's taken is entirely up to you.


Broadcast engineering consultant. I spent most of 2009 doing field work, installations and commissioning of networked audio systems. It was sort of a banner year, actually, since we did CBS Radio's new headquarters in Manhattan, and that was a massive (and time-consuming) project. All told, I spent about 190 days on the road, and probably 3/4 of that was in NY.

On the plus side, when you travel as a contractor you get to deduct per-diem M&I expenses at a standard rate on Pub 1542 (anywhere from $50 - $65 a day, depending on location) regardless of your actual expenses. I eat cheap, so that's a convenient shelter, albeit a small one.

For 2010, I'm back to a slightly more conventional lifestyle. Still working as a contractor, but with a semi permanent gig in-house at Harris, which is the company I worked for as an employee before I quit and went on my little cross-country "finding myself" tour in '08.


Why do I have a Miata? Not sure I understand the question. What should I have instead?



I didn't realize it myself until I actually had to sit down and calculate it. Not much that can be done about it unfortunately (short of revolution), but them's the breaks.

Maybe instead of tea, we should be throwing doctors into the harbor? Not sure how that'd work from a logistical standpoint, but it's worth considering.

[QUOTE=Joe Perez;547263]
Why do I have a Miata? Not sure I understand the question. What should I have instead?

[QUOTE]

sorry Joe smart arse comment saying you make too much money :giggle:

umm, what should you have....... nfi really, i was just talking to the wife about that b4 & i wouldnt swap my nb for anything else, i would get a 3rd (well 4th) car though :D:laugh: oh & what i would get might interest you guys a little as you dont get them in the states ..... ford falcon G6ET, check em out, flat 13 sec grampa car... love it.... sorry guys off topic.....

I gotta say that if you talk to lots of people about it, they will repeat the last part, "but I don't agree with the current tax system," especially wrt the graduated scale, etc. BUT, when you show them the numbers and plug in real income numbers, I think you will see people react a different way.

Take Joe for example. Whatever his bracket is, I'm sure his AGI represents more than what 90+% of people claim. And without knowing the numbers, most people would say that it's unfair for a guy going out and making his own living to pay proportionally more than those other 90%. But then, when you say what his AGI actually is, the class warfare crap comes in and they say he should pay for his slice of the American dream. Sentiment changes when people start thinking Joe is "rich" because he has a "high" income.

My head absolutely spins this time of year over this stuff. Any accountants out there may know what it is, but my business purchase was structured around a 734B setup. Let's just say that it's a tough way to go unless the purchase was front loaded with cash by someone who was already loaded up with cash, which mine definitely was not. It will be a good thing when the amortization schedules for the installments and the writedown start to match, but until then I am :vash:.

which class am I in if my FAGI is almost double my taxable income?

The class that's going to get audited because you have so many deductions, or the class that doesn't use birth control.

actually it's the class with a big mortgage interest deduction.

Just so you know I am not one of those that would change my mind. I know people who make large sums of cash. Some pay a lot of tax, some not so because there are large business expenses. I don't make much and don't pay much.

It would take a chunk out of my wallet, but I would still vote for a flat tax or consumption tax tomorrow. I think it's only fair. I do still believe in the american dream and mine just doesn't involve large sums of cash or I would still live in the city and do things similar to what Joe is doing. I don't believe in this redistributive wealth or government forced purchasing crap. However I'm living in the current system.