@#$%^&*

I was in Aspen a few years ago was to get married next day we were at the bank I asked if they had any repossession houses the bank president said yes
we have an auction tomorrow at 8:00AM got the paperwork Anna liked it I told her that I was buying her a house up front she just sold her grandfathers estate
went to the auction signed up did a walk through around 70 people signed up it started at $300k I bid got it.
Later that day I got a call from Juneau my dogs ran off -20 degrees I got on the next flight 11:45PM Janet next door said she had my dogs
and Jaxon was not doing well. the next morning my hot water hose blown out. If I was not at my house it would have been destroyed
Anna and I were planning on six weeks or so. It did kill my world champion German Shorthaired pointer Jaxon.
I have been told replace that hot water heater every 10 years I do if it needs it or not.
 
bought a foreclosed house in Daphne AL.-- it was after the houising market crash here-- most all the houses we looked at had been foreclosed---- it had NO appliances-- at all including Hot water heater---the new one I installed -- didnt even last 5 years -- gee thanks LOWES .......luckily it was in a garage so when it POOPEd -- it just pooped down the driveway..........
 
67plexi said:
I was in Aspen a few years ago was to get married next day we were at the bank I asked if they had any repossession houses the bank president said yes
we have an auction tomorrow at 8:00AM got the paperwork Anna liked it I told her that I was buying her a house up front she just sold her grandfathers estate
went to the auction signed up did a walk through around 70 people signed up it started at $300k I bid got it.
Later that day I got a call from Juneau my dogs ran off -20 degrees I got on the next flight 11:45PM Janet next door said she had my dogs
and Jaxon was not doing well. the next morning my hot water hose blown out. If I was not at my house it would have been destroyed
Anna and I were planning on six weeks or so. It did kill my world champion German Shorthaired pointer Jaxon.
I have been told replace that hot water heater every 10 years I do if it needs it or not.
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Sorry to hear about that.... :-(
 
DonP said:
I thought the US was a low-tax, fund-it-yourself economy. It strikes me that you actually pay more tax than we do in Europe with our socially-funded medicine. Where is all the money going?
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That’s a good question. The tax situation in the US is actually fairly complex. The average working person deals with four to seven different taxes - Social Security tax, Medicare taxes, Federal Income tax, State Income tax, sales tax, and property tax. Some states also have a value-added tax (VAT), in addition to a regular sales tax. We have no national sales tax. Only property owners pay property taxes; this tax doesn’t apply to renters. Some states don’t have an income tax. And, some taxes offset others. For example, property taxes (to a point) are tax deductible, so they have the effect of lowering your net income, which may mean the difference between owing income taxes or not.

Social security and Medicare taxes are payroll taxes, which are different from income taxes. Everyone pays into Social Security and Medicare and it is non-refundable.

Where things start to get interesting are the income taxes. A large portion of the US workforce effectively pays no federal income tax. They do have money taken out of their paychecks that is sent to the IRS, but when they file their taxes, they get a full refund. This is mostly due to either their income levels or the number of deductions they claim. I generally get some form of refund, but not a full refund.

Each tax category may not be too onerous on its own, but the “tax man” has lots of ways to get ya! As for where the money goes...umm....

You mentioned socialized medicine. In fact, there is a form of socialized medicine in the US. We have the Medicare and Medicaid programs. These go back to the Lyndon Johnson administration. They are both administered by the federal government, though they serve different purposes. Medicare is a program for seniors over 65 who are also receiving Social Security benefits and for younger people who are disabled. Medicaid targets lower income people, children of low income households, low income pregnant mothers, etc. However, the states set their own eligibility requirements for Medicaid. The drawback for those on these programs is that doctors don’t have to accept them. So, a person could be technically covered, but be unable to find a provider who accepts the program. In reality, most working people are not eligible for either program.

I have often pondered what would happen if we made a couple of simple changes. For example, when the US has elections they are held on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November of that election year (except for presidential primaries or special elections). I wonder what would be the effect if Election Day was moved to the day before "tax day", as it is called here (April 15). That way, people would go to the polls royally pissed-off at the headache and pillaging they just endured getting their tax forms sent in.
 
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Thanks Smitty - that was very informative. I have ideas about elections too. We have a general election every five years, accompanied by the usual campaigning, lying and promising. The most convincing liars are the ones that get in. My idea would be to do away entirely with general elections. Instead we would have a by-election every week in a different constituency. That would make a total turn-round time of five years for our 250-ish constituencies. Election spend would be capped at normal local election level, and it would be very difficult to muster the kind of lies we are accustomed to without national hype.

Never going to happen, of course.
 
DonP said:
This returns business sounds like a scam. Basically they are holding, and presumably investing your money for a year interest-free. Do I have that right?
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Bingo!

That is pretty much exactly right.

Each year we have to file tax forms delineating all our income sources, "from whatever source derived," as is stated in the 16th Amendment.

We also have certain deductions to our income that we are allowed. When all the sources of income and deductions are adequately tallied, the net figure is used to determine our actual tax burden for the year. In many cases, a person may get a full or partial refund. In other cases, a person may have to pay additional taxes.

The process sounds easy enough, but what can be deducted and how to categorize the deductions can get really dicey. More and more we end up buying tax software, hiring CPAs (certified public accountants), or poring over IRS booklets and tax forms for hours hoping against hope that we don't confuse something.

Don't get me wrong. The United States is a very large nation. I understand that takes money to run. I also do not have a problem supporting our social safety nets like Social Security and Medicare. But, the process of compliance is very burdensome for the average taxpayer.

So, how does it work for you in the UK?
 
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Here in the UK there are two ways of paying personal tax. The most common is Pay As You Earn (PAYE). Based on your income, tax is deducted from each month's pay check, with all allowances etc already worked out. There may be a small adjustment at year end, but this is quite uncommon. Your company's payroll people do the maths according to formulas publish by the tax authorities.

The other way you calculate yourself, again estimating the year's income. You pay twice a year. One payment is six months in advance, the other six months in arrears. Again, there could be an adjustment either way at the end of the financial year.
 
I cant BELIEVE the way the removed -- basically ALL deductions-- for MANY employment classes...its ridiculous -- especially to pass the change MID year-- I mean -- pass the bill in 2018 but let it take effect in 2019--- not "retroactive" !!!

funny thing is my unemployed son in law with 3 kids gets like 4 grand back --- WTF?!?!?
 
eSGEe said:
I cant BELIEVE the way the removed -- basically ALL deductions-- for MANY employment classes...its ridiculous -- especially to pass the change MID year-- I mean -- pass the bill in 2018 but let it take effect in 2019--- not "retroactive" !!!

funny thing is my unemployed son in law with 3 kids gets like 4 grand back --- WTF?!?!?
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Dude, from what I gather they are giving some people back more than they paid in! This system is screwed! The Donald screwed it even worse...talk about F'n the little guy...
 
Sp8ctre said:
Dude, from what I gather they are giving some people back more than they paid in! This system is screwed! The Donald screwed it even worse...talk about F'n the little guy...
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The possibility of getting back more than was paid in is not new.

For example, the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit have been around for many years. Both of these can result in a person getting more back than was paid into the system.

I don’t know if the recent tax law has something new in it, but these two things have been around for quite awhile.
 
it has ZERO DEDUCTIONS for home office-- travel-- phones M&E -- or literally ANYTHING for outside sales or work from home -- they yanked EVERY one of those--

YEs Chris-- he is getting back WAY more than he pout in
 
DonP said:
Here in the UK there are two ways of paying personal tax. The most common is Pay As You Earn (PAYE). Based on your income, tax is deducted from each month's pay check, with all allowances etc already worked out. There may be a small adjustment at year end, but this is quite uncommon. Your company's payroll people do the maths according to formulas publish by the tax authorities.

The other way you calculate yourself, again estimating the year's income. You pay twice a year. One payment is six months in advance, the other six months in arrears. Again, there could be an adjustment either way at the end of the financial year.
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Are you required to go through a process of submitting documents each year listing all your income and deductions - essentially laying out all the math?

That’s the process we call “filing our tax return.” There are often multiple forms that are required and everyone above a certain income level is required to file.

That threshold income level is very low, so pretty much anyone who has a regular job will have to file annually.
 
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