morpeth

The reduction in the corporate tax rate will be beneficial for the economy that is for sure- it will increase the rate of return on corporate investment decisions, contribute to the raising of capital, and contribute to better cash flow. To have economic growth the USA should be dong all it can to make America a better choice for business.

As far as reductions in personal income taxes for the upper income brackets, in this age of deficits and apparently stagnant real wages, I struggle whether that was necessary or appropriate. I haven't studied the pass through provisions but I hope these only apply to operating businesses or have some restrictions, as pass-throughs can definitely be used in a variety of ways to avoid paying taxes.

Giantaxe

I miscalculated - I overlooked that exemptions are going away. It's actually a $2500 increase on this year, which represents about a 25% increase in liability!

anotherlimey

Except south florida... No income tax. I save about $1200 a year apparently.

Anian

That's not what I said, but that doesn't matter. What you said may be true for a few years.

scrubbedexpat099

I never understood the logic of deducting your property taxes, apparently at one time you could deduct credit card interest as well.

Only in America.

MidAtlantic

Do away with all deductions and just have standard deductions, bring in a PAYE system as in the UK so that a large number don't have to fill out a tax return, then they could claim reform.

scrubbedexpat099

Sadly too many vested interests.

Giantaxe

The theory is that it is double taxation. Not sure I buy that for property taxes, but it is certainly true for state income tax. Remember, the UK does not have the complication of two separate governing entities collecting tax.

morpeth

Quite true, and it seems Congress which is well aware of this, can't put together political courage and common sense to truly reform the out of control tax system which is so complicated. UK is much easier to deal with, and a PAYE system would make so much more sense in US.

Not just state and federal to deal with- where I lived there was also school tax, and a city tax where I worked, and another where I lived. I do think state taxes are good if a particular state determines its own priorities and people then have a more direct link to their representatives- but filing two city returns, and paying a school tax, seemed a bit much.

morpeth

I seem to remember one could deduct credit card interest, I think before the Reagan tax reform.

The interest deduction for companies while not allowing deduction for dividends paid ( though through an ESOP somewhat possible), ends up giving companies more incentive to take on debt.

I remember in Economics 101 years and years ago Professors- from both right and left, pointing out how the American tax system distorts rational investment decisions because of all the provisions favoring this or that industrial sector or personal investment decisions.

Giantaxe

Yes, I think that went away in '86.

And this tax bill leaves all those issues pretty much intact.

scrubbedexpat099

Yep, all the individual can do is work with what there is.

Good to see the tax penalty on OCare has gone.

Giantaxe

Only if you want to see premiums go even higher and the number of uninsured rise from its current low point. The CBO projects 13m more uninsured as a result of this.

"Those effects would occur mainly because healthier people would be less likely to obtain insurance and because, especially in the nongroup market, the resulting increases in premiums would cause more people to not purchase insurance."

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/53300

morpeth

While I never liked the idea of a tax on whether one signed up for insurance or not, it was inserted as part of an attempt- however wacky and ill-conceived to get more health care available to those who didn't have it. In that respect it worked, though I recognize increase in premiums overall also meant some lost or had reduced coverage. But getting rid of the mandate and the tax, which will effect funding for Obamacare, without a rational replacement for Obamacare is a travesty of political cowardice and short-sighted politicians caught up in an ideological straightjacket.

Just like sending troops all over the world, yet the streets of Chicago see such amounts of murders ever year.

Strange world these politicians inhabit.

mrken30

Pity they didn't pass a law to stop the uninsured being able to use ER