I would like to see a comparison of Joe Anybody’s tax return-—with current rules side by side with proposed rules.
That would explain this much better for the average person who can barely keep their checkbook straight.
Alot of people don’t even know the difference between exemptions & deductions.
That wouldn’t be hard to do, but we don’t know enough details yet to do it.
Exemptions are tied to the number of people in your family. 4 people, 4 exemptions. There are exceptions if you’re blind, 65+ or older, etc.. but by and large, they are tied to the number of people living in your house. Think of it as an “allowance”.
Deductions vary based on the nature of your income and many other facts of your life not to mention whether you itemize or take the standard deduction. Deductions generally have no limits whereas exemptions are capped.
Depending upon your income level, both deductions and exemptions could be totally or partially phased out.
This plan will hurt someone like me. My wife and I both work and both do well. In the eyes of the tax code, we are “rich”. But we have 4 children and live in a modest home in an expensive area. We are rather far from “rich” and our ability to earn what we do is based directly upon where we live.
I’ve long argued that the tax code should be geographically indexed. The cost of living in Dubuque Iowa simply isn’t as high as NY or NJ etc... Earning $60K here and you’ll be struggling to make ends meet living in an apartment. Two people each earning that in middle america I’d bet are doing fairly well. The Federal Government pays more to its employees based on geography. We could arrange a fair tax code along those lines. But it’s a pipe dream.
“Alot of people dont even know the difference between exemptions & deductions.”
Then take away their vote.