So did your taxes just go up?
- Thread starter GasBandit
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Necronic
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When Bush decided to do the Tax Rebate in the form of a check I thought it was a pretty stupid idea, but I've really come to change my mind now. These "temporary" tax cuts are pretty much never considered to be temporary in the long run, which is really, really, REALLY bad, both politically and economically. People get used to them and then they just enter into the realm of expected.
That's kind of the problem with the Bush/Obama tax cuts as well. No one thinks of them as temporary, even though they were entered with sunset provisions for review every year. But if you get cut a check? That's definitely considered temporary.
I hate to say this....but we as a people are simply too financially immature to use "temporary" tax cuts.
That's kind of the problem with the Bush/Obama tax cuts as well. No one thinks of them as temporary, even though they were entered with sunset provisions for review every year. But if you get cut a check? That's definitely considered temporary.
I hate to say this....but we as a people are simply too financially immature to use "temporary" tax cuts.
Necronic
Staff member
That doesn't make any sense. You can change tax rates without a sunset provision can't you? Otherwise we would still be reviewing WW2 era tax rates.
Edit: ah ok, just read on the Byrd act. Any change to tax rates that increases the deficit is required to have a sunset provision.
Edit: ah ok, just read on the Byrd act. Any change to tax rates that increases the deficit is required to have a sunset provision.
My work took out the higher amount for this month because the compromise took too long. Since they had to turn in something, they used the old law. So next month's check should have a larger take home.
Same thing happened last year.
Same thing happened last year.
thanks Obama
This is why I find the GOP politicians that run on the platform of absolutely no tax increases laughable. Taxes need to be raised and lowered based on what the economy is doing at the time. Making a promise to never raise(or lower for that matter) taxes is basically like saying "I promise never to go to the bathroom during my term".
I'm really just sick to death of the sound bite politics.
Necronic
Staff member
As Steinman pointed out though, thanks to the Byrd act ALL tax cuts are technically temporary. So you can't really call it a cop out since they are all hit with sunset provisions, regardless of intent.
GasBandit
Staff member
Which is absolutely idiotic.
GasBandit
Staff member
I think you mean, your take home was reduced by a further 2%. The tax increase was more than 2%.
This. My paycheck was about half of what I am used to, 400ish less than I was expecting, and well low of what I need. But then, the holidays and time off and bad work and a new 680 dollars of unexpected child support really took a toll on this pay check so I didn't even notice the tax increase.
Unfortunately it's still going to be taking a toll on next pay day also. So it'll be a month before I (hopefully) return closer to normal pay.
My Social Security cost went up by 2%.
But I've been doing so much overtime that I can't tell if my paycheck got smaller or not. I won't know until I return to normal work hours.
But I've been doing so much overtime that I can't tell if my paycheck got smaller or not. I won't know until I return to normal work hours.
All righty... just had a chance to review and update my stuff for '13. Since I initially became a homeowner back in '99 (and got a legal copy of Excel to use through work), I've tracked my payroll statements - along with my wife's. I've now got 14 years of data to play with, so I can give you some general numbers without giving away my actual pay (though I think you could probably find it somewhere online, if you looked - the joys of being a state employee).
So: here's what my taxes were for the last 14 years, expressed as a percentage of my gross pay. Keep in mind this is the combined totals of Federal, FICA/Social Security and Medicare taxes, compared to gross pay:
By the way - the 2005 drop can be explained by one thing: I started paying for my own health insurance halfway through the year. (Yeah, yeah, I know.)
So: here's what my taxes were for the last 14 years, expressed as a percentage of my gross pay. Keep in mind this is the combined totals of Federal, FICA/Social Security and Medicare taxes, compared to gross pay:
- 2012: 10.9%
- 2011: 13.8%
- 2010: 16.3%
- 2009: 16.2%
- 2008: 18.6%
- 2007: 17.6%
- 2006: 17.5%
- 2005: 13.9%
- 2004: 16.7%
- 2003: 17.1%
- 2002: 18.5%
- 2001: 19.7%
- 2000: 18.1%
- 1999: 17.6%
By the way - the 2005 drop can be explained by one thing: I started paying for my own health insurance halfway through the year. (Yeah, yeah, I know.)
hmm, increase taxes and hoping consumers keep consuming in a consumption based economy.
I'll be in my fort.
I'll be in my fort.
Lost $50 between this paycheck and the last. So about $100 a month. My last raise gave me about $30 net increase on my check so I'm losing about $40 a month from when I started this job. If it's just withholding it probably won't be a big deal, but if it's FICA stuff I'm just going to resign myself to the fact that I'll never see my share if it again.
I've gone back 5 years, and haven't been able to find a single month where it dipped below 50%*. Americans complaining about their fuckin' taxes.
***Yes, of my gross. My employer pays about €3.700 a month for me and I go home with about €1.550, give or take depending on OT and nights and weekends worked etc.
**Partially joking in that I'm well aware I get a lot more in return, too, in the form of medical care and such.[DOUBLEPOST=1358179295][/DOUBLEPOST]That ssaid, yes, my taxes DID go up quite a bit between last month and this one
To cross i's an dot t's, Texas has a 5% sales tax. The counties and municipalities get the other 3.5%
I work for a state institution and they sent out an email containing the following:
As you may have heard from news reports this week, the United States Congress did not extend The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (Tax Relief Act of 2012) which reduced the Social Security tax rate by two percentage points. Because this act was not renewed for 2013, Social Security withholding will return to the previous deduction of 6.2 percent. Employees will see that Social Security withholdings will increase from 4.2 percent to 6.2 percent and impact your net pay beginning with the January 15, 2013 paycheck.
Although Medicare withholding will continue at 1.45 percent, there is an additional change that will increase the deduction by .9 percent for a total of 2.35 percent for employees earning annual compensation at amounts defined in the new law. Additional notice of withholding changes will be provided to those employees. When reviewing your upcoming paycheck or your payroll statement of deposit, please note that the Social Security and the Medicare deductions are combined and listed under the FICA deduction heading.
This comes after the state voted to give us a 3% raise (for the first time in over 10 years) but decided to increase our Social Security withholdings by 2% at the same time. Keep in mind that I work for the lowest paying public university in the state. It also happens to be the largest and most lucrative. Last year, the local paper published a list of people who made over $100k at the non-profit university where I work. There were over 200 people on it. Yeah. Suck a nut, assholes.I don't see how federal increases have anything to do with your state increases.
The State increased her pay. The Fed tax increase reduced her net pay by almost the same amount. Net effect = only about a 1% raise.
--Patrick
On top of that, the state decision to increase our salary by 3% came at the price of having to put an extra 2% more of our checks into retirement. I don't really have a problem with more of my paycheck going towards retirement, but we basically lost money in the entire process.
Yeah, that sucks and all, but one has really nothing to do with the other. They're determined by two completely separate governing bodies.
Okay, main point; my paycheck is taking a hit from the feds and there is no real hope for promotion or a raise. Le boo.
Right. I took it to mean she wasn't complaining that one caused the other, she was just complaining that governmental machinations in general caused her paycheck to shrink, and it's this net result which makes her unhappy, and not the fact that it is da gubbermint's fault.
--Patrick
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