patrick.net

Yes $235K is good income, LOL.

If you are making 235k or more per year your taxes will be going up by 3-8%

$209-$373 is the current bracket for the 33% rate, so let's say it goes to 36% starting in 2011.

For your $235K household salary, let's say you've got $23000 going to 401Ks and you get a $40,000 interest deduction.

Congratulations, you're in the 28% bracket with the rest of us upper middle-class shmucks.

but it would be nice if these tax cut expirations were done regionally vs. places like the Bay Area, LA, NY where the cost of living is anywhere between 50%-250% higher than the national average

Wouldn't home values here just rise even more if taxes were lower? If you want to lower the cost of living here, you should be arguing for higher taxes : )

For fun let's look at the $400,000K power couple right at the max of the current 33% bracket.

They've got the $23,000 401Ks and the $40,000 mortgage interest deduction so for 2010 have $330K in household taxable income and pay $86,681 in taxes for an effective tax rate of 21%.

If Obama's neo-Marxist changes take effect next year, their taxable income will be around $330K, and their tax bill would be $89,100 plus the 8% deduction clawback of $4000 for a total tax liability of $93,100 or 23.3% of their gross, $6500 more than 2010 (hopefully they'll get a 1.6% raise to cover it).

Where do I sign the impeachment petition?

"can begin to plan how to manage going forward"...

Oh yes, this will be crushing... those making 250+ will be financially crushed by the pure cruelty of this change, this reversion BACK to what it was before the Bush folk made the cuts and planned the lapse schedule...

Just for contexts sake, I wonder what the breakdown of income ranges across the USA is currently?... Oh, here it is from the census bureau with a percentage breakdown of those families earning that amount:

$0 to $25,000 (28.22%)
$25,000 to $50,000 (26.65%)
$50,000 to $75,000 (18.27%)
$75,000 to $100,000 (10.93%)
$100,000 or more (15.73%)

$100,000 to $149,999 (9.89%)
$150,000 to $199,999 (3.17%)
$200,000 to $249,999 (1.17%)
$250,000 and above (1.50%)

So those making $250k and above constitute just over 1 percent of the entire US population. And lets see... by comparison their mortgage deduction is more than about 60 percent of the rest of the population actually makes as income... and their 401k contribution would be almost more than about 30 percent of the population makes... So, yes, boo-hoo this will no doubt be a crushing change for those in the extreme upper 1 percent of the earning range. Or, they may actually not even notice unless their accountant tells them something has changed.

I think its right that everyone is ignoring this post.

Taxes will be going up for those of us who make less than 235k per year as well.

Marginally.

You know, I really don't understand what the hatred for paying taxes is. I mean, we get so much in return for it - police. fire depts, highways, national parks... I do know that in the US people generally get a lot less for their taxes than in other countries so maybe the problem is with HOW the taxes are allocated?... Too much to the military, maybe?...

Maybe I am missing it, but if tax cuts were so important, why did they make it so they could expire?

Troy says

Where do I sign the impeachment petition?

I'm no fan of the president, but how does not extending temporary tax cuts that were issued years before, never needed, and contributing to our massive deficit become grounds for impeachment?

klarek says

Troy says

Where do I sign the impeachment petition?

I’m no fan of the president, but how does not extending temporary tax cuts that were issued years before, never needed, and contributing to our massive deficit grounds for impeachment?

I think he was kidding

tatupu70 says

I think he was kidding

My sarcasm detector is apparently due for maintenance.

> My sarcasm detector is apparently due for maintenance.

No fault of yours, I think its very hard to tell on this forum whats satire and whats serious sometimes.