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Finally, to restate what number-six said: A few stupid quick numbers $300K filing jointly with federal tax and multiple child deductions ($5K), home and school interest deductions ($18K), and non-juiced charity I can only assume since you have such rigid moral fiber you tithe your full 10% (plus one for good measue $33K) …

Your taxable income would be $244K  so you would pay $4,074 + 9% over $50K --REGARDLESS of 66!--

Lets say you are totally dumb and pay on all $300K

Before 66 (see above):  $26K

After 66 ($24,537+ 10.8% on 50K): $30K

You will pay $4K more, and if your accountant cant figure out a way to reduce that $4K cause it is going to drive you into bankruptcy (like college savings plan or health saving or deferred retirement or small business selling stuff on ebay)  Really just leave.  Perhaps California. Some say their taxes are less… I heard... no really leave.

Oregon has real systemic problems, but its minimum business tax rate is not one of them and not why businesses stay away (WA has a higher gross receipts tax and a sales tax, CA has higher all taxes).  

I will give you:

1) Fix PERS (no it is still not whole what ails PERS is exactly the same thing that is killing ALL retirement system compounded by the employer only putting IOU's in these personal retirement accounts (read ponzi or madoff)

2) Fix K12 education where the people spending the money are not connected to the ones footing the bill (local district vs. state coffers)

3) clean up the tax structure (Everyone should pay their fair share and grandma should not lose the family home in the perl because her taxes are more than her SS check)

4) Fix the referendum system (but of course this would require that Salem does its job)

4.1)  Fix the initiative system so that they cant be unfunded.

4.2)  Stop being one of 5 states that spend more on prisons than on College (thanks Mannix )

just to start

http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/One%20in%20100.pdf

http://www.retirementliving.com/RLtaxburdens.html

http://www.oregon.gov/DOR/PERTAX/docs/2009Forms/101-043-09.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_receipts_tax

posted 3 years, 3 months ago
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Darn me and my little mind that just can’t grasp these things…  Having a public education it is very hard.  I try to listen to Rush, Hannity, et al but they make my head hurt.

Again congratulations:  $300K is SOOOO much money.  The average US worker with a high school education would need to give up 12 years of their life to make that much and you choke that down in a year, that means that if you can maintain that for just five short years you will make more than those dregs of society make in their entire life ($1.5M)! Truly W00T!!!!  IF it is true if you pay 50% in taxes and those high school educated scum do not pay anything then it is going to take you 10 years to make more than them… Wow so if you had started this in 2000…  Is this what you mean by class warfare?

Geeze what do you do with all that money…  but lets face it, if 300K is it, you are poor compared to the really rich.  I mean they get bonuses (sometimes federal bailout funded) that make your 300K look like… well a high school grad looks to you.  They get their penthouses in the perl or downtown with a 10 years of tax deferral.  We are lucky enough that we have Uncle Phil who is truly rich:  when he decides to move money the state budget feels the tremors (Thank You Phil we really do love you!)  He can drop $100M in higher education charity more than you will make in 340 years and the high school dropout makes in 4,545 years.  Class warfare indeed.   Could it be the uber rich pay most of the taxes because 1% of the population controls 90% of the US wealth?  should they NOT pay  at least 90% of the taxes???  Your 300K wooo…  We… er, they have trust funds that pay out more annually.

posted 3 years, 3 months ago
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Hmm,  I have worked for and know many small business owners.  One example: a business with about $4M gross the principals all drove $50K company leased cars, and they had the annual shareholder meeting of two weeks in Hawaii for them and their extended family.  Oh and the business dinners, nightly $150 per plate at the Met in Seattle...  even running at a loss they need to come up with about $3500 for taxes instead of the $10 they pay.

On the other hand I know another small business owner/artisan who scrapes by with about $300K no BMW 700 series for her, but she does go sailing for a month every winter in Baja, but then she will not be subject to these taxes.

Finally if I were smart enough to operate a 5 million dollar business but could not manage to scrape out an income that would put me in the top 1% of Oregon earners, and that business is in peril because of a $4,000 tax bill...  I would sell my business to someone who could manage to make that a reality and go get an extremely comfortable job as a business analyst for a large corporation.

posted 3 years, 3 months ago
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Wow $300K and frugal living...  I commend you.   That is a great move carrying the low interest $40K in student loans with 2.5% interest really helps.  Most people who do not go to college hold debt at 14-19% that was not subsidized and insured by the federal government.

I totally agree with you not giving to charity in lieu of taxes.   I mean did your local church fill the potholes on your commute to work, or are they locking up the crack mom in the new mega prisons and keep her meth baby in fostoer care to the tune of $70K/year because of the messed up "get tough initiatives".  And if you went to public colleges did they pay for you to go to school (and if they did would they pay to send the meth baby to go to college in the future or would they just rely on the state or fed to fund the education) or if you went to private colleges I bet the financial aid was all state and federally funded.

Finally however,  I do not agree with your sales on craigslist.  Look at your last years taxes where you itemized... for example that waterbed you itemized for $500 it saved you about $150 in taxes but really you will only get like $50 on Craigslist and the taxes on the income will be what ten bucks.  No really you should give last years winter parka to the goodwill and itemize the value it as $300.

posted 3 years, 3 months ago
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Two responses to the gas station owner:

1)  Individuals who make no money are taxed all the time!  Middle income people who are having their house foreclosed or low income people using credit cards to buy groceries.  Also if there were a sales tax then everyone who has a negative income would be paying tax...

2)  If a company makes $5 million dollars it can pay $4,000 in taxes, yes even if it is running at a loss.  The loss should only happen for a year or so what about the past 10 years?  How many company vehicles are there, how many principles meeting in Hawaii or Mt. Bachelor are part of that net loss.   

posted 3 years, 3 months ago
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