Posted on 09/28/2015 7:57:43 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
I wrote earlier today how Trump could “surprise me in a good way” over his tax plan, and you know, he did. His personal income tax reform plan for people who don’t have stocks is really simple and something which he should be praised for.
The simplification is really good and is a lot easier than the current system. Good on Trump for doing this. From a personal standpoint, I prefer either a very low flat tax (7%) or zero income tax at all. But the income tax part of Trump’s plan isn’t bad at all. I’m still not sure how those making under $25K will do their taxes and be able to keep their money. The way the current system is set up, people get taxes taken out every paycheck and get their money back from the government after they file taxes. That one page “I win” form Trump talks about in his plan is pure fantasy and honestly leaves his system rife for fraud if it simply means people will pay the taxes they want to pay (although honestly, I’d love to be in that system).
The plan gets a lot trickier when it comes to stocks and the long term capital gains/dividends rate. It’s here where Trump decides to raise taxes, specifically on those who make over $100K a year. Here’s the current tax rate on long term capital gains/dividends per Charles Schwab.
Here’s Trump’s with the focus on the long term capital gains/dividends.
So what Trump is saying is if you earn over $150k a year and have stocks, you deserve to pay more. This isn’t going after hedge fund managers, this is going after people who use their hard-earned money to buy stocks or people who maybe were given stock options when they signed on with a company. This might force single filers right around $150K to decide to sell their stocks to take the short-term financial hit, instead of having to pay more each year. It’s what I’d if I had a stock like Apple or Google or some other high-earning stock and made $150k. I’d sell the stock and stick the profit in a savings account or 401K and just forget about it.
There’s something else about Trump’s plan which no one is talking about- it’s really similar to Jeb Bush’s plan, just slightly smaller in a couple parts. Here’s Bush’s plan.
We will cut individual rates from seven brackets to three: 28%, 25% and 10%. At 28%, the highest tax bracket would return to where it was when President Ronald Reagan signed into law his monumental and successful 1986 tax reform.
Bush’s corporate tax rate is 20%, while Trump’s is 15% (Rand Paul’s is the lowest at 14.5%). I prefer Trump’s over Bush’s, but Paul’s over Trump’s. It’s just amusing to see how similar Bush and Trump’s plans are. I’m not going to be going into the weeds on his repatriation of corporate cash plan because I want to study it a little more. I really don’t think companies should be punished for moving their money overseas. It honestly makes sense for them to want to do this if it saves them money. But I want to study it more before commenting further.
The thing which bugs me the most out of all this is how will Trump pay for everything he wants to do? He’s talked single-payer for low-income families, making the military so strong no one will want to mess with the U.S., and not doing anything to Social Security. He’s already called this tax plan “revenue neutral,” so how will he pay for what he wants to do. This is where Republican keep failing over and over when it comes to balancing the budget and cutting down debt. They get the equation half right with tax cuts, but fail to do the spending cuts needed to chomp away at the debt. I mention Calvin Coolidge a lot, but there’s a reason. He’s the only president in the last 100 years to actually cut spending on a consistent basis, while lowering taxes. George W. Bush didn’t do it and neither did Reagan. Trump and the other candidates have to answer how they’ll save the country money, rather than just yelling, “cut taxes!”
Trump’s personal income tax plan isn’t bad at all, except for the long term capital gains/dividends rate hikes. It’s nice to see him put out a proposal I can mostly agree with, even if I don’t think it goes far enough (but I don’t think any of the candidates’ plans go far enough). I still have concerns about how he’d pay for everything he wants to do. I’m also curious whether those who aren’t supposed to pay taxes would get cash taken out of their paychecks before getting it all back at the end of the tax year. But it’s certainly less Bernie Sanders than he made it out to be on 60 Minutes. Which is a good thing.
The problem with you types, blah,blah, blah, is you are changing no one over to another candidate and you are tiresome. If you had asked for an analysis without your I’m more intelligent and conservative than doth bs I may have thought you were actually interested in one.
I’m going to “kind of” join you in one “specific” criticism although I am and have been a Trumpster.
The criticism is that I think ANY AMERICAN blessed to live here should pay SOMETHING. I don’t give a damn if it is just one dollar! So, the FREE RIDE part of the Trumpsters plan is disappointing.
The Investor’s Business Daily also cited this one flaw in Donald Trump’s plan:
SEE HERE:
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3342438/posts
I would also add that UNTIL politicians quit pretending the debt is no problem, tax policy is, in the big picture, a bandaid.
Simply put, approximately 1/3 of the Federal Government must disappear to get the budget balanced. After that happens, the U.S. can start paying down and negotiating down its debt. Just “starting” that process (cutting 1/3 of government) will in and of itself restore confidence in the USA worldwide and contribute significantly to growing the economy and thus getting government workers off the taxpayer payroll.
I would also add that UNTIL politicians quit pretending the debt is no problem, and cease borrowing trillions, tax policy is, in the big picture, a bandaid.
Exactly. The whining whiners will always boohoo over maybe 1,000 single filers at some get rich quick startups rather than paying attention to the millions and millions of regular hardworking people who benefit.
Trump’s plan isn’t gonna keep anyone from becoming rich if they apply themselves.
Taking more people off the rolls is not a good idea. It increases the number of “takers” in the country.
I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised (given his stance on health care), but Trump’s tax plan is complete crap.
If you’re going to have an income tax (which you shouldn’t, because it’s one of the most profoundly destructive policies), you HAVE to tax the poorest Americans as well, to make sure they have skin in the game. If you don’t tax them, they vote for every spending bill they get their grubby little hands on. While Trump seems to recognize the problem with taxing the highest brackets 40-50% (namely, that it provides an incentive to donate to Democrats), 25% is still far too high.
The best way for our government to receive revenue consists of seizing all assets from Dementocrat voters; this will pay off the national debt that they caused. In the long term, a simple 1-10% flat tax is all that is needed to fund the military (the only legitimate function of the federal government).
Hopefully, Cruz or one of the fellows at the Mieses Institute can get Trump on the right track.
That might work, and monkies will fly out of my butt!
Well, even Trump’s plan probably won’t be implemented, much less one which gets rid of the income tax and effectively prohibits the government from making poor financial decisions. This is the country which either elected Soetoro or allowed him to steal the election, after all.
Which is a huge criticism of most of our Senators, but not of Cruz. And it’s exactly why we need a conservative President to drive the agenda, because we don’t have a Congress that’s willing to step up any more.
Do you even need a full hand to count out the number of conservative Senators we have?
BTW, Mike Lee supported him in this effort so that’s one more.
The fact is, it’s much cheaper and easier to buy off the Senate than it is the House. The leftist donors only need to keep 100 people fat and happy and once they have one in their pocket, they don’t have to worry about that position for 6 years. And the Senator can go RINO without having to worry about facing the public for 6 years.
Look who he was running against! Romney? Before him McCain? If you are ready to give up, just support jeb and be done with it!
Tinker all you want. If in the end you still have a progressive tax on income, work, and production you have failed.
Just wave your magic wand and have a flat tax work before your eyes, right off the bat! We are not yet there. Did Bruce Jenner turn into a woman in one simple step?
The package is limited in its scope. It doesn’t do everything.
But for a tax plan, it’s a good start. I’m for Cruz and will not vote for Trump. But this is a pretty good income tax plan. The author of this essay describes it honestly, and critiques it fairly.
I am not ready to give up. My first choice is Cruz, but I am willing to get behind Trump. Trump recognizes the existential threat illegals, Muslims, and PC Leftists are, and is unapologetic about acknowledging them as such, so he has my vote.
That’s part of the reason I’m disappointed in his tax plan: I know he can do better. His current plan is not Leftist by today’s standards, but it fails to account for future Leftist meddling. The free rider problem with regards to his lowest income tax bracket is a perfect example of an oversight.
I got this message from a friend this morning re: Trump’s plan : “ Pipe dreams . It’ll never fly . Too many powerful interests will be affected . When it actually tries to get implemented it will be so bastardized it’ll be pathetic . “
I see it as the free riders given a chance to get on their feet...don’t forget, their government programs are going to be slashed as part of the wasted taxpayer money gravy train drying up! Plus he can’t scare away all the free riders from voting for him! The Democrats will be promising rainbows, unicorns, and WiFi!
Well that settles it, you got a message from a friend this morning! This message indicates that Trump won! I will settle for that!
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