Election and Tax Cuts

Every time there is a presidential election, the candidates always say that they are going to give more tax breaks to people with children. I don't disagree with this concept at all.

But, what about those of us that don't have children? Why don't we deserve a tax break too?

Hope this post doesn't cause too much controversy here.....

Hum, interesting point....


I always wondered about tax credits for homeowners, like mortgage interest deduction? Why don't renters get any tax credits ?

(I know, it stimulates the economy by promoting home ownership but surely there is a way to recognize renters too with some type of credit as well...)

First lets see if they even go through with their promises. During election time they all say what we want to hear, once in office things change.

I do think that those with kids should get a break but there also has to be some kind of break for those who don't.

Last year Dh and I were so upset, we got SOOOO much taken out in taxes, each paycheck i would have $600 or more taken out in just taxes and Dh has even more taken out, they take out around $1k for him. Then when its time for a tax return you get hardly anything back. We got back about 1 month worth of taxes they take out from us in our paychecks, its ridiculous. And why do we have to keep giving to social security when they say it wont be around when we get older.

Homeowners can deduct mortgage insurance and real estate taxes.

At least we get a tax refund because of those deductions.

It is so disheartening to look at your gross pay and then look at your net pay.

I am sure this will not be the popular opinion, but I don't really like the idea of tax cuts that help certain groups and not others. I think that those who pay a ton in taxes should not be forced to support the choices of others if they do not go down the same path.

We pay an excessive amount in taxes, but rarely get the benefit of any government program. For example, the new economic stimulus plan (not even mentioning the rebate checks) included an incentive for first time homeowners in the form of a rebate. However, if you make over a certain amount of money, you are not eligible for this refund. We fall in the later category and I find it very frustrating. Yes, we are lucky enough to be able afford a certain type of home, but it doesn't mean that we couldn't use the help. We pay a lot of money in taxes to help others, but are usually phased out of whatever program is currently in place. I have a ton of student loans from law school and I cant deduct a penny of teh exorbinant interest that I pay because of my salary. That seems ridiculous to me as well.

JMHO. Please be gentle.

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Posted by bonniejd

I am sure this will not be the popular opinion, but I don't really like the idea of tax cuts that help certain groups and not others. I think that those who pay a ton in taxes should not be forced to support the choices of others if they do not go down the same path.

We pay an excessive amount in taxes, but rarely get the benefit of any government program. For example, the new economic stimulus plan (not even mentioning the rebate checks) included an incentive for first time homeowners in the form of a rebate. However, if you make over a certain amount of money, you are not eligible for this refund. We fall in the later category and I find it very frustrating. Yes, we are lucky enough to be able afford a certain type of home, but it doesn't mean that we couldn't use the help. We pay a lot of money in taxes to help others, but are usually phased out of whatever program is currently in place. I have a ton of student loans from law school and I cant deduct a penny of teh exorbinant interest that I pay because of my salary. That seems ridiculous to me as well.

JMHO. Please be gentle.

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i agree with you; i fell in the same category and i just laughed at the fact that I wasn't eligible. this is NY; a good or even great salary still doesn't get you very far, unfortunately.

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Posted by bonniejd

I am sure this will not be the popular opinion, but I don't really like the idea of tax cuts that help certain groups and not others. I think that those who pay a ton in taxes should not be forced to support the choices of others if they do not go down the same path.

We pay an excessive amount in taxes, but rarely get the benefit of any government program. For example, the new economic stimulus plan (not even mentioning the rebate checks) included an incentive for first time homeowners in the form of a rebate. However, if you make over a certain amount of money, you are not eligible for this refund. We fall in the later category and I find it very frustrating. Yes, we are lucky enough to be able afford a certain type of home, but it doesn't mean that we couldn't use the help. We pay a lot of money in taxes to help others, but are usually phased out of whatever program is currently in place. I have a ton of student loans from law school and I cant deduct a penny of teh exorbinant interest that I pay because of my salary. That seems ridiculous to me as well.

JMHO. Please be gentle.

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I agree, you cant take alot of money from one person but then at the same time they get nothing out of it.

What you make before taxes is not even close to what you actually get.

DH was making alot more than me, quite a decent amount more and let me say that after taxes our paychecks were very similar, he still got more but not by alot. They sit there now and say that if you make over X amount then you dont need any help and why should you get something, yeah that would be true if you actually took home the whole thing, you take home half of that or even less, so they should really keep that in mind.

From Screwed: The Undeclared War on the Middle Class (link to Amazon) by Thom Hartmann,

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If I walk into a 7-Eleven store with a dollar in my pocket and say, 'Gee, I'd really like that Hershey bar,' and if I tear it open and take a bite out of it, that Hershey bar now belongs to me. And that dollar belongs to 7-Eleven, even thought it's still in my pocket. It's pretty simple. As soon as I used the candy bar, I'd entered into an agreement to pay for it. It's a form of a contract even though I've never signed anything with a convenience store in my life. It's not my money anymore, even though it's still in my pocket, once I take possession of the candy bar.

We make an agreement by staying in this country that we will live by its rules.

I get up in the morning and the lights come on because my government is regulating the local utility for both safety and reliability (FDR had to force electric utilities to serve many communities - thus the Rural Electrification Administration.) I open the tap to brush my teeth, and the water is pure because my government has purified it and delivered it to me from miles away in a safe fashion. The toothpaste I use isn't poisonous because the government has passed laws that make it possible for aggrieved consumers to sue if they're harmed. Its ingredients are listed because the government requires it.

When I drive to work, the streets are paved by my government, and the streetlights work because my government planned them right and keeps them in good working order. The radio station where I broadcast from can do business because my government provides a stable currency and a framework of contract laws that allow a corporation to exist and function. The food I eat for lunch at a nearby restaurant is safe both because it was inspected at its source by the US Department of Agriculture and because the local government checks our restaurants for sanitary conditions. I can eat without worrying that bandits are going to run into the restaurant and demand everybody's wallet because the police are on the job. And I can go about my day without worrying that we'll be bombed by invaders from another country because the State Department and the US Army both negotiate and protect our nation. With a little bit of thought, you can add dozens of other things to this list - - all provided with taxpayer dollars.

Living in this society and using these services is like picking up and biting into the Hershey bar at the 7-Eleven: I've agreed to pay for them because I live here and I use them. The form of my agreement is called taxes. Therefore the money from my paycheck that goes to pay my taxes is not my money. It's the money I owe to cover the cost associated with the things I use each and every day. To suggest it's 'my' money is to spit in the face of our Founders - - to suggest that somehow each of us is above and separate from the social contract we've all agreed to by living in this great nation.

I don't mind paying taxes.....

It's just that why do some people get more tax breaks than others.

People who decide to have children are entitled to tax breaks and those of us that decide to not have children do not get tax breaks? Seems like an imbalance to me.

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Posted by DeeDee1013

I don't mind paying taxes.....

It's just that why do some people get more tax breaks than others.

People who decide to have children are entitled to tax breaks and those of us that decide to not have children do not get tax breaks? Seems like an imbalance to me.

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I agree!!!

We have a few cats and a dog....

I wish that we could claim them as dependents. We feed them and put a roof over their heads....

and we love them to pieces.....

Im not even going to post my opinion all I will say is.......my thoughts arent very different from those in this thread but it goes further. If I post anymore all kinds of randoms will come out to play and Im not in the mood

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Posted by snwb08

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Posted by bonniejd

I am sure this will not be the popular opinion, but I don't really like the idea of tax cuts that help certain groups and not others. I think that those who pay a ton in taxes should not be forced to support the choices of others if they do not go down the same path.

We pay an excessive amount in taxes, but rarely get the benefit of any government program. For example, the new economic stimulus plan (not even mentioning the rebate checks) included an incentive for first time homeowners in the form of a rebate. However, if you make over a certain amount of money, you are not eligible for this refund. We fall in the later category and I find it very frustrating. Yes, we are lucky enough to be able afford a certain type of home, but it doesn't mean that we couldn't use the help. We pay a lot of money in taxes to help others, but are usually phased out of whatever program is currently in place. I have a ton of student loans from law school and I cant deduct a penny of teh exorbinant interest that I pay because of my salary. That seems ridiculous to me as well.

JMHO. Please be gentle.

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i agree with you; i fell in the same category and i just laughed at the fact that I wasn't eligible. this is NY; a good or even great salary still doesn't get you very far, unfortunately.

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I agree here too. Using base income isn't even helpful because like you mentioned people who live in Manhattan or San Francisco make a lot more money than people who live in say Texas or Florida, but the cost of living is HUGE in Manhattan. Why should these people be penalized?...As the saying goes...the more you make, the more you pay.

I realize there are extreme's and yes it ***** living on LI/NY but hey you have a choice to leave, like dh and I are going to have to leave because we can't afford a home even in a not so great neighborhood because of taxes. Do we complain when more gets taken out of our checks, yes and I understand we all complain and it is unfair.

But really has anyone begged for food have no steady shelter and had a job? If anyone has walked that path you know your not the one complaining about paying a bit more. Dh and I both worked hard all of our lives, I went to college but still we struggle. We both have had to go to food banks when we were single and worked one or two jobs and couldn't afford to eat. This isn't the case now but we are still considreed poor in some people's eyes. We have seen older people who have worked all their lives and gave everything to their children to have their children abandon them and now they are left eating cat food and they are dishing out high taxes so your kids can go to school. Should they have the right to stop paying taxes?

Not saying it is unfair for someone living in manhattan to have to deal with high taxes, high cost of living to have to pay more but hey sacrifice your cable, new car or something. I am not slamming people on here but I think it is sad that as American's that we constantly complain about giving to people who are less fortunate but yet that is what this country was based on. Hard working people earning a home (maybe not in the best school district or having 1 acre of land but a house that functions) and being able to put food on the table. Do they deserve a tax break over someone who has a petty damn nice house, two new cars, a boat and earns 250k a year i think so.

I do agree i think it does blow that some people cranking out kids get more in tax breaks when they can't afford it but i think in general people who make more should give me and people who make less pay less. If you work off the books your a criminal and people who crank out kids for $$$ are bastards.

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Posted by nifheim

I am not slamming people on here but I think it is sad that as American's that we constantly complain about giving to people who are less fortunate but yet that is what this country was based on.

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I dont think the majority of Americans complain about taxes b/c they dont care about helping less fortunate people,I think its primarily because imo there is no justification for OVER taxing someone because they have or make more than you. And because someone may have a higher salary than someone else doesnt mean they cant use the help. The tax system already takes a higher percentage of higher incomes. You are not supposed to penalize someone for doing well in their life or hteir business. It is not public money it is their money. I am not by any means in the top 2% of people in this country that foot more than 95% of the tax bill, but our economy gets its steam from incentive, not handouts.

I didn't mean to raise everybody's blood pressure.

All I was trying to say was...as a married person with no children, the government should come up with a tax break for us too.

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Posted by DeeDee1013

I didn't mean to raise everybody's blood pressure.

All I was trying to say was...as a married person with no children, the government should come up with a tax break for us too.

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ITA, b/c I have no kids, dont own a home, etc. etc. I get no tax break

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Posted by Licee15

INHERITANCE TAX

MCCAIN 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)

OBAMA &nb sp; Restore the inheritance tax

How does this affect you?

Many families have lost businesses, farms, ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will only lose them to these taxes.

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See this one annoys me.
Whatever family leaves to you has ALREADY been taxed....why should anyone have to pay out more