Turbo Tax did me justice!

They gave me Quicken, but it says I'm (what's the word?) overdraft!
Not true

Thanks you three that's all I needed to know.

 katzendogs wrote: 
I have used it for five years or so. I think it's great. There is now a (supposedly) free version too. It allows you to submit everything electronically, no mailing at all, and to have your refund deposited directly into your bank account. The version I've always used is about $30, it has some extra help with deductions and the like.

One nice thing about it is it carries over information from year to year. Name and address info, plus it shows you last year's W-2s and other paperwork as you go through it.

c.

 katzendogs wrote: 
Used it for the first time this year.  Did the whole thing online - worked great.

 katzendogs wrote: 
I've used it for years. I like it.

The only times I consulted a professional was when we were living in IL, hobbitt was working in GA, and owned a piece of the company that incorporated in MA. Too tricky for me.

Anyone have experience with Turbo Tax? Good,bad, ugly?

 uselessart wrote: 
At first.

Interest on mortgage loans will be deductible for those making under $200k, right?

 strawberryblonde wrote: 
That may happen due to the mortgage crisis. The tax break on interest was one (small) factor in the mess, because it allowed people to take out larger mortgages.

It's not so much that renters should get a tax break, just that mortgage interest would no longer be deductible. Same thing, different terms.

It also ties into my 'consumption tax' rant: it would not matter whether you rented or owned if you paid tax on what you SPENT. It could get a bit complicated due to the longer terms of mortgages: do you pay the 'sales tax' all at once up front, or spread it out over the length of the mortgage? What happens if the Gov't decides to change the nominal 'sales tax' rate on housing expenses during the term of your mortgage (a very likely scenario)? It is certainly possible to work it out, there are just those sorts of hitches that should be addressed.

c.

renters should get the same tax break as home owners

Okay, I'm gonna throw out the idea of consumption taxes instead of income taxes. Again.

Why?

Because philosophically, we are taxing the wrong thing. Income tax 'punishes' people for, what? Making money! Is that really the message we, as a capitalist society, want to send? Work hard, get ahead, so we can take a bigger chunk of your efforts. I don't think so.

Consumption taxes, that is, sales taxes, 'punish' people for the very thing that has gotten us into this mess: profligate SPENDING!  (Plus I just love typing 'profligate'. What a word.)

I have not read all about the 'Fair Tax' proposal, because I don't need convincing, but my guess is it's all spelled out in there. From what I understand of it, I still have some disagreement with it, such as sales tax on 'staple' items such as milk, bread, produce, et al. In Texas those items are not taxed, along with most food items that require preparation. Ready-to-eat foods and snack foods are taxed.

Another big fun item of consumption taxes is, politicians will still have plenty to argue about. Think about all the time spent on the current tax code. First the government wrangles over it, THEN the accountants and tax advisers and whatnot try to figure out what to do next. With consumption taxes, the first part stays the same, but the second part becomes much simpler, because there's very little to figure out: you buy something, you pay a certain percentage to the government.

Another nice thing about switching to consumption-based taxes is you can CHOOSE how much tax you want to pay. Huh? Birth, death, no taxes? Well, technically, yeah. If you lived off the grid, or purchased only necessities (non-taxed items), you wouldn't have to pay any taxes, no matter how much money you made. Sounds weird, and isn't very realistic, but it's certainly possible.

Consumption taxes are accused (rightly) of being regressive. But the fact is, people who make more money, spend more money. Automobiles, housing, TVs, shoes, clothes, dining out, you name it. If you exempt virtually all essential items from taxation, consumption taxes become far less painful. Big-screen TVs? No one has the RIGHT to own one, it's a CHOICE. Once people start correlating what they spend to the amount of tax they pay, well, you'll see some big changes in the American consumer mindset. In a good way, in my opinion.

Capital gains, interest income, blah blah blah, all that goes away. We don't CARE how you made the money anymore, we only care when you SPEND it.

I'm not idealistic enough to think it'll ever happen, but it's worth thinking about. Maybe it'll get the wheels turning.

c.

BasmntMadman wrote: 
And the CPUSA was the first American political party to call for full and equal civil rights for African-Americans, too. So, let's recap: turns out the Communists were on the right side of history after all, and nobody admits/knows this interesting fact.

This thread + Schlabby = gonna be interesting!

Watch pron - save the economy...

'Skin taxes' tempt, face First Amendment issues

OLYMPIA, Wash. — It's enough to make you blush: Some politicians want a bigger taste of the economy's naughty side, pushing for special taxes on dirty magazines, racy movies, sex toys and strip clubs.

In Washington state, a half-dozen cash-strapped legislators recently endorsed a huge sales tax increase on explicit movies, magazines and other sex-themed products.

New York officials recently acknowledged that Gov. David Paterson's proposed "iPod tax" on Internet downloads also would apply to online porn purchases, along with tamer diversions, such as pop music and computer software.

And in Texas, state lawyers are fighting to preserve the "pole tax," a $5 cover charge on strip clubs that's being challenged by business owners.

In the past five years, lawmakers from Tennessee to Kansas to California have pitched special taxes on porn, escort services, exotic dance clubs and other adult businesses. A U.S. senator even toyed with the idea of an Internet porn tax on the federal level.

Most of the proposals — call them skin taxes — have stalled, often because of conflicts with First Amendment protections of free expression. Washington's proposed porn tax earned little support, despite the need to close an $8 billion budget deficit.

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