The New American Politics thread

[calgarygeologist]

Wow, American tax rates are ridiculous. Pence earned $113,000 last year and paid just shy of $9,000 in taxes. I would love to only pay $9,000 in tax.

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

Wow, American tax rates are ridiculous. Pence earned $113,000 last year and paid just shy of $9,000 in taxes. I would love to only pay $9,000 in tax.

I've filled out a lot of tax returns in both countries and a few provinces and states. My conclusions are:

1. If you are a single guy, renting your home, with a fancy car, your total tax bill is around 40-45ish percent in the US, and around high 30s in Canada.

2. If you are a person with a stay at home spouse, and a couple of kids, and mortgaged a 400k house, and have an older car, you're total tax bill is around 10-11% in US, and somewhere around 30% in Canada.

3. If you are a superstar athlete making a few million a year, you are around high 30% to mid-high 40% in Canada depending on the province, and probably a little higher in the US depending on the state.

4. If you are a single mom with a couple kids, working full time and making 25k/year, you are getting a 5k EIC credit in the US, and probably paying some amount of tax in Canada.

When you include Fed, State, Property, Sales, personal property and payable tax credits, US is actually far more progressive in the US vs. Canada, and isn't even really close in most scenarios. Alberta should really be ashamed that the high paid hockey players are the only ones who have an Alberta tax advantage.

[Mr.Coffee]

Hmmm if Dr.Oz is to be surgeon general, is that still not better than that crazy guy who made those outrageous and comical claims about him?

[GGG]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

I've filled out a lot of tax returns in both countries and a few provinces and states. My conclusions are:

1. If you are a single guy, renting your home, with a fancy car, your total tax bill is around 40-45ish percent in the US, and around high 30s in Canada.

2. If you are a person with a stay at home spouse, and a couple of kids, and mortgaged a 400k house, and have an older car, you're total tax bill is around 10-11% in US, and somewhere around 30% in Canada.

3. If you are a superstar athlete making a few million a year, you are around high 30% to mid-high 40% in Canada depending on the province, and probably a little higher in the US depending on the state.

4. If you are a single mom with a couple kids, working full time and making 25k/year, you are getting a 5k EIC credit in the US, and probably paying some amount of tax in Canada.

When you include Fed, State, Property, Sales, personal property and payable tax credits, US is actually far more progressive in the US vs. Canada, and isn't even really close in most scenarios. Alberta should really be ashamed that the high paid hockey players are the only ones who have an Alberta tax advantage.

Your last example is wrong while a single mom would pay income tax on roughly 5k on income federally and 0 in Alberta so around $750. If she had 2 kids she would receive roughly 16k in child benefits.

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by GGG

Your last example is wrong while a single mom would pay income tax on roughly 5k on income federally and 0 in Alberta so around $750. If she had 2 kids she would receive roughly 16k in child benefits.

That would have been the one scenario I was guessing on in Canada. What does 16k in Child benefits mean? Doing tax returns is something I do as favors, but I've done more than a handful for a bunch of different scenarios in both countries. The US one I was referencing is a woman who runs a daycare out of her home for 5 kids. Grosses 33k, nets about 24-25k. I could have deducted more, but kept it there for obamacare reasons. So no tax withheld, affordable health care with low co-pays and no deductibles, and she got $5k back on payable tax credits. What would be a comparable scenario in Canada?

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

Wow, American tax rates are ridiculous. Pence earned $113,000 last year and paid just shy of $9,000 in taxes. I would love to only pay $9,000 in tax.

Yeah, that's not even close to the effective tax rate for people who work for a living. It also doesn't take into consideration the hidden taxes that Canadians would find intrusive. The actual tax on Pence's income for a working individual is 22%, or almost $25K. That doesn't include hidden taxes that Canadians can't appreciate. Add another $12-15K for and equitable medical insurance plan as to what you would have in Canada, another $500-$1,000 for car registration (dependent on valuation of vehicle), and then stupid taxes on your residence. Yeah, you get to write off the interest on your mortgage, but it barely balances the difference between Canadian and US property taxes. To look at what Pence pays is a joke, and I encourage you to move down here to the US. We need the tax base and I want to watch you bitch and complain about how little you get for your tax dollars.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

That would have been the one scenario I was guessing on in Canada. What does 16k in Child benefits mean? Doing tax returns is something I do as favors, but I've done more than a handful for a bunch of different scenarios in both countries. The US one I was referencing is a woman who runs a daycare out of her home for 5 kids. Grosses 33k, nets about 24-25k. I could have deducted more, but kept it there for obamacare reasons. So no tax withheld, affordable health care with low co-pays and no deductibles, and she got $5k back on payable tax credits. What would be a comparable scenario in Canada?

The child benefit is money that the government pays people below a certain income level. So Essentiialy a single mom making 25k gross in income would pay less then $1000 in tax but each month would receive a check from the government for $1300 or so. So her net Salary would be somewhere around 40k

[peter12]

Also, Pence only made $113,000 last year. That guy is a small fish swimming in wild waters right now.

[ResAlien]

"basket of deplorables"

That's the kind of unforced error that's going to hang over Hillary for a while. Feels like a "binders full of women" moment for her.

[nfotiu]

She probably shouldn't have said it. It never really helps to insult the electorate. But the whole quote is pretty spot on.

"To just be grossly generalistic, you can put half of Trump supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables," Clinton said. "Right? Racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, you name it."
She added, "And unfortunately, there are people like that and he has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people, now have 11 million. He tweets and retweets offensive, hateful, mean-spirited rhetoric."

[GGG]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

She probably shouldn't have said it. It never really helps to insult the electorate. But the whole quote is pretty spot on.

That's terrible quote but maybe it helps with independents the 20% of Americans she just called racist weren't going to vote for her anyways. So does blatantly calling out the supporters as racist get the undecided / 3rd party voting for her instead?

It's bad rhetoric and certainly doesn't raise the level of debate. And certainly does nothing to convert or moderate an ardent Trump supporter.

I wonder if they focus grouped that statement first. It really seems like the 47% Romney gaff.

[FlamesAddiction]

I think she is right, but she probably should have put the filter on a little more.

Honestly though, if you are not racist and you are voting for Trump, then you are a racist. His policies are transparently racist and if you are willing to have them implemented, then how can you say you are not a racist?

[Senator Clay Davis]

This election has been an exceptional advertisement for how badly the process needs to be reformed so the election cycle is 4 months instead of 18. The longer it goes on, the more you want it to end. I realize this is an unusual year for having bad candidates, but it still has to change. But of course it won't, because too many people make too much money with things as they are.

[Drak]

Originally Posted by peter12

Also, Pence only made $113,000 last year. That guy is a small fish swimming in wild waters right now.

113k - That we know of. On paper that is.

[wontondestruction]

Originally Posted by peter12

Also, Pence only made $113,000 last year. That guy is a small fish swimming in wild waters right now.

He'll be raking it in next year, when he's working as a pundit for Fox news.

[Dogbert]

I feel like Trump's plan is to get the heterosexual white people who don't vote for him to stay home. The media seems only too willing to play into it.

Hillary has the minorities and LGBTs, but she can't win if they're the only ones who turn out for her.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

This election has been an exceptional advertisement for how badly the process needs to be reformed so the election cycle is 4 months instead of 18. The longer it goes on, the more you want it to end. I realize this is an unusual year for having bad candidates, but it still has to change. But of course it won't, because too many people make too much money with things as they are.

I think a shorter process could probably increase turnout. I assume that as things drag out people lose interest and end up saying, "#### it, I'm not voting."

[killer_carlson]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I think she is right, but she probably should have put the filter on a little more.

Honestly though, if you are not racist and you are voting for Trump, then you are a racist. His policies are transparently racist and if you are willing to have them implemented, then how can you say you are not a racist?

Keep that broad brush out. It's playing exactly into Trump's hands.

I'm surprised Clinton took the bait on this.

[Roast Beef]

Originally Posted by wontondestruction

He'll be raking it in next year, when he's working as a pundit for Fox news.

Not Fox. TNN (Trump News Network)

[the_only_turek_fan]

https://youtu.be/GPbH5G0nSSA