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Also the deductions arbitrarily denied to individuals. Use a car to drive to your W2 job? That's "commuting" and thus not tax deductible, despite it being utter

Also the deductions arbitrarily denied to individuals. Use a car to drive to your W2 job? That's "commuting" and thus not tax deductible, despite it being utterly required for earning that money.

reducesuffering 3y ago
Ya let's subsidize people making 50 mile single occupancy vehicle commutes in an F150 instead of one closer and a more efficient vehicle. /s
- mindslight 3y ago
  Ya let's jump on people making a point with a completely different topic. If you want to increase the price of commuting, raise the gas (/electricity) taxes. That's orthogonal to my point. If you really can't fit this topic in your head without being distracted by OMG CAR, then replace "car" with "subway pass". The point is that in the business context, expenses required to create income are deductible. If you get paid on a 1099, you get treated as a business and can take those deductions. You can even claim a section 179 accelerated depreciation, and immediately deduct half of the capital expense.
qwytw 3y ago
The higher rent you'd pay if you chose to live closer to where you work so that you wouldn't have to drive should also be tax deductible I guess.
- mindslight 3y ago
  I'd say the amount of rent paid in proportion to time working (+supporting activities) divided by time awake should be fully above-the-line deductible, yes. The point is there are many such deductions that businesses straightforwardly take, that natural persons are told it's all "personal use", despite them being directly necessary to sustain person-as-an-economic-actor.
  - qwytw 3y ago
    I guess I somewhat agree in principle but an indiscriminate tax cut/deduction/universal income would be a much better approach. Easier to administers and much fairer.
    - mindslight 3y ago
      I'm torn on this, because on one hand I think keeping a record of everything you spend, sorting through it all to tally it up, and generally tracking one's life with spreadsheets is a horrible way to live. So the tax code de facto requiring that is oppressive. But on the second hand (and this was my main point here), these are deductions that businesses already get to take. Get routinely paid on a 1099, and see all the deductions you can take essentially by virtue of now "running your own business". It's obscene. Perhaps set up an LLC+S-corp for even more. But on the third hand, I get the argument that if we just eliminated business deductions in general, that "thin businesses" would be impractical.

Also the deductions arbitrarily denied to individuals. Use a car to drive to your W2 job? That's "commuting" and thus not tax deductible, despite it being utterly required for earning that money.

reducesuffering 3y ago

Ya let's subsidize people making 50 mile single occupancy vehicle commutes in an F150 instead of one closer and a more efficient vehicle. /s

mindslight 3y ago
Ya let's jump on people making a point with a completely different topic. If you want to increase the price of commuting, raise the gas (/electricity) taxes. That's orthogonal to my point. If you really can't fit this topic in your head without being distracted by OMG CAR, then replace "car" with "subway pass". The point is that in the business context, expenses required to create income are deductible. If you get paid on a 1099, you get treated as a business and can take those deductions. You can even claim a section 179 accelerated depreciation, and immediately deduct half of the capital expense.

qwytw 3y ago

The higher rent you'd pay if you chose to live closer to where you work so that you wouldn't have to drive should also be tax deductible I guess.

mindslight 3y ago
I'd say the amount of rent paid in proportion to time working (+supporting activities) divided by time awake should be fully above-the-line deductible, yes. The point is there are many such deductions that businesses straightforwardly take, that natural persons are told it's all "personal use", despite them being directly necessary to sustain person-as-an-economic-actor.
- qwytw 3y ago
  I guess I somewhat agree in principle but an indiscriminate tax cut/deduction/universal income would be a much better approach. Easier to administers and much fairer.
  - mindslight 3y ago
    I'm torn on this, because on one hand I think keeping a record of everything you spend, sorting through it all to tally it up, and generally tracking one's life with spreadsheets is a horrible way to live. So the tax code de facto requiring that is oppressive. But on the second hand (and this was my main point here), these are deductions that businesses already get to take. Get routinely paid on a 1099, and see all the deductions you can take essentially by virtue of now "running your own business". It's obscene. Perhaps set up an LLC+S-corp for even more. But on the third hand, I get the argument that if we just eliminated business deductions in general, that "thin businesses" would be impractical.