A Fiscal Cliff Calculator - How Much MORE Will You Pay in Taxes?

The WWW | 12/28/2012 | R2

[Responsibility2nd]

There are a number of Fiscal Cliff Calculators out there that can estimate how many thousands of dollars more per year you will pay if we go over the Fiscal Clif.

[lacrew]

It seems that once jobless benefits run out, many are suddenly becoming ‘disabled’.

[Responsibility2nd]

This link indicates the FC will be WORSE for low income wage earners and the more you make - the less of a increase percentage you will be hit with.

 

Those at the higher end of the income scale will face the biggest tax hikes under the "fiscal cliff" scenario in dollar terms, but many lower-income earners will see larger percentage increases. 

For example, a single person making $15,000 and having only himself as an exemption would see a $555 increase in his tax bill or nearly 49 percent more than the bill under current rates. The expiration of benefits for students and low-income earners could deepen the cliff impact for people in this group, depending on their circumstances.

Alternatively, a married couple filing jointly with three exemptions and a $125,000 income would face $6,135 more in taxes or a 28 percent increase. And if they claim child tax credits, the bill could rise by $500 per child, as current levels of the credit are reduced.

 

[bgill]

We’re this [] much over the poverty line and this [] much ineligible for gov freebies but we’ll be paying 62% more in taxes than we are now?!? How the bleep is that possible? There is no more blood in the stone.

[Responsibility2nd]

It seems that once jobless benefits run out, many are suddenly becoming ‘disabled’.

 

Ah yes. I see them at Walmart

[lacrew]

Ha.

But the new generation of SS Disability fraudsters are not necessarily too fat to walk. They are ‘bi-polar’.

Heck, the internet is the new ‘back of the phone book’:

http://ssdisabilityapplication.com/social-security-disability/mental-disabilities/bipolar-disorder/?gclid=CLi9l8rIvbQCFYZaMgoddm8AAA

Just call the 1-800 number and they’ll get you started.

[Svartalfiar]

Some simple steps to change attitudes about taxation:

1. Abolish automatic withholding. Its immoral. If a bill is due to Ceasar, let us write a check. Don’t intercept the money before it gets to me...let me filter it trough my bank account, let me ‘feel’ the money, and let me be cognizant of how much I am paying. Make it a bill due once a month...peridically adjusted if you ae under/over paying just like an escrow account a mortgage holder keeps for property taxes.
2. Teach high school seniors how to fill out a 1040-EZ form....and the approriate state form. Give the kids a chance at being able to fill out their own taxes, instead of making it seem to be some magical thing that only the ‘experts’ can do. Let them write down their total wages...and traverse the form from there. Let them look up their ‘total tax’ on the table. Sure, it will be very little at first, but as they get better and better jobs, they will start to understand just how much they are being skimmed.
3. Eliminate company social security withholding, and switch it to individual withholding. The current system is incredibly cynical, and is meant to fool the sheeple. In year one of this, smart employees will ask for the difference in more salary, so it can be tax neutral...but it will help people ‘see’ their real social security withholding.

1. Well I have different ideas about how income taxes should be handled, period, but for now we can assume they stay mostly the same. (Flat rate federally, or more preferably, go through states.) Anyways, your point one is good, I've mentioned several times to people that instead of gov't withholding, we should just pay in April. And most people I talk to say they don't have money for that/can't save. Well it's not hard to take 10-15% of each paycheck (the amount that would otherwise be withheld) and drop it in a savings account you don't touch. You'll get a better return on your investment instead of giving Uncle Sammy an interest-free loan. If you don't have the personal control to handle that, then we can maybe have an option on your W2 when you first start to have them withhold. But OPTIONALLY. Though I also like your monthly (maybe quarterly?) idea, bit easier for people. And they definitely see more on what is taken from them, instead of the "April bonus" they get back.

2. Taxes are NOT HARD. Itemizing, with trust funds, dividends, charitable contributions, etc etc etc, is complex, but for what most people do, the EZ is, well, easy. I have had (past) girlfriends who have no clue what they're doing, needing me to do taxes for them. I know 'deduction' and 'gross income' are three syllables, but seriously... I started doing my own taxes (no one taught me) as a HS sophomore when I first started working. Nothing to it. Though we may need to upgrade standards for today's 10th grade publick skool maths first.

3. Again, I think SS should be phased out completely (100% paid off and made optional), but that's a whole 'nother argument, and I need to go refill my coffee. Maybe next time.

[fatnotlazy]

“It seems that once jobless benefits run out, many are suddenly becoming ‘disabled’.”

***

Yes, and it ticks me off. Eventually, benefits will run out for those of us who are truly disabled. And who knows how many legitimate claimants are denied in order to provide benefits to those whose only disability is laziness.

[NEMDF]

We will also get hammered. We will be down to about zero in discretionary money, which will mean we will not have money to spend on goods and services in the economy, nor will we have money to give to charity.

But it’s all good, because 0bama, Timmy, Harry, and their ilk are so much better about making these decisions of what to do with our money. It is just sad for all who will lose their jobs, because people like us can no longer afford to spend any money as we choose.

[sten]

did anyone notice this?

income ($)	current taxes ($)	new taxes ($)	percent increase
10,000	430.00	635.00	48 %
20,000	1,910.00	2,755.00	44 %
30,000	3,830.00	4,875.00	27 %
50,000	8,065.00	9,629.00	19 %
75,000	15,365.00	18,179.00	18 %
90,000	19,745.00	23,309.00	18 %
100,000	22,742.00	26,805.00	18 %
150,000	37,317.00	43,155.00	16 %
200,000	51,692.00	59,030.00	14 %
250,000	68,192.00	77,030.00	13 %
350,000	101,192.00	113,030.00	12 %
500,000	152,554.00	170,381.00	12 %
1,000,000	327,554.00	368,381.00	12 %

seems the cliff hits those under $50k/yr MUCH more then anyone else.

the left should be required to answer why... especially to those that vote for them

[Sequoyah101]

Agreed, would not count on it one bit. Most of the fools are not only ignorant they are terminally stupid and you can’t fix that with any amount of information.

[USNBandit]

What is really going to hurt is when the cuts in deductions takes you from a current low bracket to the next higher bracket under the old rates. I am barely in the current 10% bracket and I might slide up into a 25% (?) bracket in the old rates. A big chunk of that is lost deductions under Obamacare rules.

Now the amount I pay in taxes is paltry compared to my income, but I don't feel any inclination to pay more anytime soon. Right now the biggest money spending department in the government is HHS. DOD is number three and within a few years we will spend more on financing the debt than we do on defending the country. Why buy more smack for a heroin addict that keeps promising to go into treatment, but they just need one more hit.

[lacrew]

I agree...taxes aren’t that hard. Especially if you are a wage slave like me.

Its mostly just follow the directions.

That’s why I think high school students should be taught it. Its a life skill, that will definitely be required in a student’s future...

...of course, as far gone as our society is now, we’d have to pull the teachers out of the line at HR Block, and show them how to fill out the forms first.

[philled]

Unless you are Tim Geitner, tax software gives most people the opportunity to easily and accurately do their taxes. Most of them are even free for the 1040EZ! Alas, it does take a little more effort than watching TV so it just isn’t for everyone...