Changes in 2012 Income Tax reporting requirements

[nnuut]

This is NOT a pretty picture, higher taxes, what happened to TAX CUTS?

SIMPLIFICATION?
Feb. 24, 2012, 1:43 p.m. EST
The hidden traps in new 2012 tax forms

A number of new forms may surprise taxpayers this year

By Eva Rosenberg, MarketWatch
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Bingo! The new 1099-K forms — just one of a number of tax-form changes this year — caught a PayPal seller.
The hidden traps in new 2012 tax forms - TaxWatch - MarketWatch

[RealMoneyIssues]

CBPP: "Non-partisan research and policy institute working on federal and state fiscal policies and public programs that affect low- and moderate-income Americans."

Just a quick scan(1 hour and reading 6 articles) of their site disproves the "non-partisan" aspect... oh, and how long ago was that graphic created??? We exceeded 100% GDP last August, so the graph is off... can I assume they would just expand the Bush-Era Tax Cuts part?

FWM, you blast us for quoting Fox News or the Heritage Foundation, maybe you shouldn't quote CBPP for the very same reasons you gave us. Just a thought...

Oh, yeah, forgot. While reading the articles (including the references and notes) I realized that the CBPP assumes that your income is actually the Federal Government's and that they are being generous in allowing you to keep some of it... Instead, most of us think that the income WE EARN, is ours and while we are mandated by law to pay some of it to the Federal Government, it is still OURS to give.

I did particularly like this short article I ran across from last year:
Federal Income Taxes on Middle-Income Families at Historically Low Levels

[driz]

Well, when you read it $20 grand / 200 sales . Yea it's getting to that point where it's a bit more than a continuing yard sale / attic cleaning. This sort of thing has been a long time coming and I am surprised it took this long.

[Boghie]

Nice use of ancient data FWM.

81% of the entire TARP expenditure has already been repaid. In fact, the evil banksters have done more than their fair share:

While TARP is most often decried as a bailout to big banks, the portion of the program that actually targeted financial institutions is reaping a windfall for the government. After buying up $205 billion in stock from roughly 800 financial institutions during the crisis, as well as throwing another $40 billion just at bank titans Citigroup and Bank of America, the CBO estimates the government will turn a $25 billion profit on that portion.

The only macro losers in TARP were the bailouts to individuals and the car companies. I love how this chart merges TARP with the 'Low Money Down' Fannie and Freddie boondogle loans imposed by the gubmint. Fannie and Freddie are broke and going broker. And, only the gubmint would 'fund' loans with 3.5% down payments, gamed interest rates, and minimal income requirements. That gaming will end soon. Actually, the default rate on those cr@ppy loans are going up rapidly. Watch out 'F Fund'!!!

Also, are you projecting 'The Economic Downturn' to go as far as the eye can see? Or, maybe that is the hidden cost of the Stimulus program? Or, maybe 'Recovery Measures' is the Stimulus?

In FY2008 the Federal Gubmint had:

Receipts: $2.524 Billion
Expenditures: $2.979 Billion
Deficit: $455 Billion
(and, that was the worst annual deficit in the Bush Presidency and included most of TARP)

In FY2011 the Federal Gubmint had:

Receipts: $2.303 Billion
Expenditures: $3,601 Billion
Deficit: $1,298 Billion
(and, that was the best annual deficit in the Obama Presidency)

So, are we claiming that the Bush tax code change less efficient now than it was under Bush? I actually see a large increase in spending and a reletively modest decrease in revenue. But then, this chart seems to imply that America will never recover from 2008. Amazingly, I have...

Just for fun, here are the numbers for FY2007 (pre-crash and pre-Pelosi):

Receipts: $2,567 Billion
Expenditures: $2,730 Billion
Deficit: $163 Billion
(and, yes, these numbers include the war expenditures)

We currently burn through the FY2007 annual deficit in one bad month - yuk, yuk

Finally, Nnuut, gotta watch the right wing too. Anyone making 200+ EBay transactions or exceding $20K is in business. They should pay tax.

Tax cuts??
Unfortunately this is what happened with tax cuts:

Attachment 18419

[nnuut]

[Boghie]

FWM,

I don't use the 'budget' for my revenue and expenditure numbers - I use the actual Monthly Treasury Statement. Those numbers have always included the war costs folded into the DOD. I don't use budget numbers because they are estimates of future spending. The MTS numbers are actual spending and revenues by the month. Taking the September numbers provided FY spending and revenue. You can take this information back into the late 1990's. By the way, you cannot use budget numbers for any of the past three years because the Senate and President have not implemented a budget - yuk, yuk.

You are right regarding TARP. In my earlier discussions I place TARP spending on 'W' by giving him the 'credit' for all spending till February 1, 2009. Regardless, the bankster portion of TARP is largely repaid. The remaining auto bailout funds and home loan stuff should probably be considered bad debt.

What everyone has to deal with is that the American public is demanding that their government entities shrink. They do not want the services - at least at the cost demanded. Government entities thought they could ride out their reduced revenue via borrowing. The state and local governments are starting to realize that there is now a new revenue base. We are not going to get the revenue we once had. The Feds have got to see that and adjust - or we will be adjusted.

Seems my chart was a bit older...so RMI is correct, the latest numbers are even higher.
But...the reasons stay the same. Big Tax cuts, no trickle down to cover them and huge deficits.

Booghie, you might want to recheck some of your claims.
Most war costs were NOT included in the deficit numbers before 2009.
The biggest change in Obama's administration was to include those war numbers to show how costly the war really was.
Most of TARP occurred after the 2008 fiscal year (Oct) and thus went into the 2009 Budget Year.

[Frixxxx]

Guys,

We segwayed a bit...all I was trying to show...what the numbers clearly show...is that cutting taxes raises deficits.

Right, partly, it should read cutting taxes and NOT cutting spending raises deficits. (regardless of administration)
If people want a smaller government, make it so. But don't ask the government for things you don't want to pay for in the long run. That being said, my effective tax rate this year rose to 15.9%.

[SkyPilot]

Simplified Tax code with universal participation, concentrate on defense and end militarism, return power to states and minimize federal government. Reduce taxes by elimination of loopholes, and even better, adopt a modified, stratified national sales tax so the black market economy participates as well. Adopt a zero based budget that must justify it's existence every year.

Draconian measures are coming regardless of what our agenda is. Either pain now or apocolypse soon...

[Frixxxx]

Kinda agree with you here. A good way to have an occasional tax cut is this way.

1) Balance the annual budget.

Thanks, there is always common ground FWM, but I'll never agree the budget is balanced until the IOU's to Social Security have been paid ~ $3 Trillion.
President Clinton got us close on paper, but forgot that tiny little nuisance that keeps rearing its' ugly head.

Edit Note:
Deficit - More money spent than taken in for the year
Debt - Cumulative Money owed for all deficits

[nnuut]

Nah, January 1st!

[alevin]

Thanks, there is always common ground FWM, but I'll never agree the budget is balanced until the IOU's to Social Security have been paid ~ $3 Trillion.
President Clinton got us close on paper, but forgot that tiny little nuisance that keeps rearing its' ugly head.

Edit Note:
Deficit - More money spent than taken in for the year
Debt - Cumulative Money owed for all deficits

My two good friends, only 2 ways the budget will ever get balanced: 1) devalue the currency so there's enough to go around-each $ just buys a whole lot less, or 2) default on Medicare and SS, and if they did that, it wouldn't be able to stop there.

SS is a tax. says so on the SS printout hardcopy they used to send out annually. They bumped up my SS contributions back when I was an unaware freshly out in working world late bloomer late boomer adult-so there would be sufficient SS available when the boomer wave hit the shore, then the powers in charge went and spent those funds on other things in the meantime. If I ever draw any SS, it will be taxed again-double taxation-how ironic of them.

wish I could believe those funds will be made whole in the next 5 years, but they won't. they can't. not enough capital or taxable private sector production (notice I didn't say credit) in the world to cover every bill coming due in next few years-globally down to locally. How meaningful would it be to backfill the SS hole, when it means we end up digging an as-deep or deeper debt hole somewhere else to offset?

From what I read, SS will crash about the time I (in theory) retire. so be it. One leg of my 3-leg stool MIA. If its still there when the time comes, I'll count it as an unexpected gift, not taken for granted, not any more. Tho if its still there, it'll have a whole lot less purchasing power than it currently has. OK, that was my Debbie Downer moment for the day. Carry on, guys! :toung:

[burrocrat]

Nice to meet you debbie.

You're right about it being too much to ever pay the balance due off. There's not enough money in the world to pay it off, even if we had it all. But we don't have it all, the creditors already do. All we got is our effort, and if we're lucky, time.

So i've been trying to figure out how this magical digital ones and zeros flying money macheen works. It only pencils out if we stay one step ahead of ourselves, ie print money to carry the interest. Anything more is impossible, anything less unthinkable. How then does an individual succesfully negotiate these dire straights?

Well, the initial reaction is to blame it on someone else. Young workers v retirees sipping pina colodas. Right v left. Rich v poor. Because if it's somebody else's fault then maybe we can make them fix it. That's a comforting thought only if we don't acknowledge we can't fix it on our own.

So who's fault is it then? Bankers, politicians, gluttons driving ferraris, the destitute on snap benefits? Yes all of those. Because all of those are us. We let this happen. By electing, enjoying, enabling, perpetuating by inaction, and turning our heads from the reality of a broken system so long as 'i get my due'. We are the people. Guilty every one.

Truth is we come into this place bursting out of the slime gasping for air and brimming with energy. And we leave it in a degenerate cloud of grey dust. So find something you love to do in the mean time, and do it for credits you can exchange for food, for as long as you can. If we're lucky we'll die with a full belly. That's not to say comfortable though. Life is a boom bust proposition at it's core, that's what sticks and rocks are for. And despite all the fancy trappings, we all go bust in the end just the same. Only a few heros reportedly have broken that cycle, and that was a long time ago. It's arrogant to think we deserve any different.

Food and water. And don't even get me started on water.

burro econ 101. Congratulations, you passed.