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I have been watching comments on NYTimes and Fox News and what surprised was not a single person (out of couple of thousands) actually estimated their tax bill

I have been watching comments on NYTimes and Fox News and what surprised was not a single person (out of couple of thousands) actually estimated their tax bill and compared. There is one calculator out here (which might not be accurate because of changes): https://www.calcxml.com/calculators/trump-tax-reform-calculator https://www.calcxml.com/calculators/trump-tax-reform-calcula... I used it to arrive at following numbers. If this tax calculator is right then there is indeed ~$10K tax cut for everyone in middle class and above: $750K->$236,950 to $212,060 350K->$81,595 to $72,060 250K->$47,701 to $38,900 150K->$17,778 to $9900 50K->$548 to 0 On the other hand this NYTimes analysis says that lower and middle class cuts are tiny but people with $1M or more just get huge cut: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/17/us/politics/senate-tax-plan-analysis.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/17/us/politics/s... Also, according to above analysis poor people will be taxed more than before after 10 years! So overall at this point I think computing impact remains very hazy given all kind of conflicting information. But one thing for sure, rich people are the major winner here given much higher cuts + no or less death tax. Warren Buffet had said that common strategy they used during Bush era was to give $400 one time check to everyone so they are happy while sneaking in millions of dollars of recurring tax cuts for the rich in form of capital gains. I wish US had Swiss style public referendums where people can demand to vote on legislation and overthrow any legislation they wished.

KVFinn 9y ago
The U.S Bureau of the Census has the annual real median personal income at $31,099 in 2016. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N
tymmc 9y ago
The reality is that no-one really understand the consequences of the bill. It's a gigantic shit-pile of hastily written hacks crammed together at the last minute and rushed through without any opportunity for anyone to actually evaluate it.
hbarka 9y ago
You’re missing the big picture. Our country will have a larger deficit and the burden on a percent share basis is heavier on the middle class.
marcell 9y ago
Those numbers you posted are probably inaccurate. The true numbers really depend on whether you itemize your deductions, and how much. This particular tax bill substantially raises taxes for people who itemize, in particular states with high local taxes like California. I don’t know about Fox News but The NY Times had a good analysis of this: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/28/upshot/what-the-tax-bill-would-look-like-for-25000-middle-class-families.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/28/upshot/what-t... Obviously many families and individuals will see their taxes go up.
- WillPostForFood 9y ago
  The numbers are probably a little better than he posted, because of several last minute changes: including a provision that will allow taxpayers to deduct up to $10,000 in state and local property taxes paid and allowing lower-income individuals to claim the medical expense deduction.
- sytelus 9y ago
  I assumed standard family (married filed jointly, 2 kids, standard deduction).
  - jessaustin 9y ago
    Yeah somehow I don't see itemized deductions as a "middle class" thing. Even less so with the standard deduction increase.
    - marcell 9y ago
      About 1/3 of households itemize deductions, including myself. I live in a two bedroom condo with two kids, I consider myself "middle class." Itemizing deductions is much more common in high tax ("Blue") states due to the state/local tax deduction. This tax "cut" is targeted to raise taxes on blue states by eliminating that. The standard deduction increase is a bit of a trick, since they removed the personal deduction. So it's not a "doubling" of the standard deduction, but an increase of a few thousand. It is not enough to cover the removal of other deductions for many middle/upper-middle class families.

KVFinn 9y ago

The U.S Bureau of the Census has the annual real median personal income at $31,099 in 2016. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N

tymmc 9y ago

The reality is that no-one really understand the consequences of the bill. It's a gigantic shit-pile of hastily written hacks crammed together at the last minute and rushed through without any opportunity for anyone to actually evaluate it.

hbarka 9y ago

You’re missing the big picture. Our country will have a larger deficit and the burden on a percent share basis is heavier on the middle class.

marcell 9y ago

Those numbers you posted are probably inaccurate. The true numbers really depend on whether you itemize your deductions, and how much. This particular tax bill substantially raises taxes for people who itemize, in particular states with high local taxes like California. I don’t know about Fox News but The NY Times had a good analysis of this: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/28/upshot/what-the-tax-bill-would-look-like-for-25000-middle-class-families.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/28/upshot/what-t... Obviously many families and individuals will see their taxes go up.

WillPostForFood 9y ago
The numbers are probably a little better than he posted, because of several last minute changes: including a provision that will allow taxpayers to deduct up to $10,000 in state and local property taxes paid and allowing lower-income individuals to claim the medical expense deduction.
sytelus 9y ago
I assumed standard family (married filed jointly, 2 kids, standard deduction).
- jessaustin 9y ago
  Yeah somehow I don't see itemized deductions as a "middle class" thing. Even less so with the standard deduction increase.
  - marcell 9y ago
    About 1/3 of households itemize deductions, including myself. I live in a two bedroom condo with two kids, I consider myself "middle class." Itemizing deductions is much more common in high tax ("Blue") states due to the state/local tax deduction. This tax "cut" is targeted to raise taxes on blue states by eliminating that. The standard deduction increase is a bit of a trick, since they removed the personal deduction. So it's not a "doubling" of the standard deduction, but an increase of a few thousand. It is not enough to cover the removal of other deductions for many middle/upper-middle class families.