PSX5Central
Non Gaming Discussions => Off-Topic => Topic started by: Samwise on December 30, 2003, 08:46:42 AM
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I was just wondering how much tax you pay in the US? I know it differs from state to state and such, but would someone be kind enough to make a quick outline of an \'average tax\'?
Also, what do you pay (again, an \'average\') for health care/insurance?
Much appreciated. :D
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Sam My sales tax in my state is 6%
I think somewhere around 30% of my check is gone each paycheck for taxes. Then you still have the taxes you must pay each year for owning a car and or house.
So far as insurance goes. I have 0 clue. My company pays every bit of it.
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I pay $410 a month for health insurance and that covers me and my family. Pretty much the only downside to my new job as I only paid $120 a month where I worked before.
Office visits are $15 co pay (meaning I pay $15 each time I or my family goes)
Specialists are $25 co pay
I have a PPO now, my previous one was an HMO - had the same co pays.
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Originally posted by Capcom
Sam My sales tax in my state is 6%
I think somewhere around 30% of my check is gone each paycheck for taxes. Then you still have the taxes you must pay each year for owning a car and or house.
So far as insurance goes. I have 0 clue. My company pays every bit of it.
So on a whole you\'d be paying around 30% in taxes?
EDIT: I saw that in Texas there\'s no taxes. I\'m guessing that just means no taxes to the state of Texas, but you\'d still have to play X % to the federal state / government / whatever you call it. Is this correct? And what is the X amount - is it around 30% like Capcom described?
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You have taxes seperate from your income - for example:
Property - mine is around $500 a year
Tags (license plate renewal) - last year it was $200 because I owned a VW and my county taxes out the a$$ for imports.
The stuff taken out of your paycheck is Federal tax, State Tax and in some cases Local Tax as well. In addition you must pay into FICA (Social Security) and that is more than the Federal Income Tax! Lastly if you work in Alabama they take 5% of your paycheck and put it toward your retirement - you don\'t have a choice.
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Originally posted by Samwise
So on a whole you\'d be paying around 30% in taxes?
EDIT: I saw that in Texas there\'s no taxes. I\'m guessing that just means no taxes to the state of Texas, but you\'d still have to play X % to the federal state / government / whatever you call it. Is this correct? And what is the X amount - is it around 30% like Capcom described?
There is no state tax in Texas I believe. Some states don\'t have it, but most do. Federal tax and local tax are the only income taxes in states that don\'t have a state tax.
Sales tax is different... when you buy something you pay a certain percentage (ex. 6%) on top of the cost. A few states don\'t have a sales tax either - Delaware is one and when I lived in Philly, people would flock there to buy expensive items because of it.
As for your 30% question - taxes are based on a sliding scale/bracket system. If you earn more money you are obviously taxed higher (if you are really rich you get an accountant who can find loop holes for you!). Also your marital status and number of dependants have a lot to do with how much your Federal Witholding status is. I claim me, myself again (as head of household), my wife and my son. Some people pay higher taxes than others, some pay none, some pay taxes then at the end of the year get more back than they paid in!
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Thanks for the explaination Giga. :)
So say you lived in Texas - could you make a rough estimate of what the federal tax and local tax would be (for a single person - say with an income of about $60,000)? A list where I can compare myself would do too. ;)
And believe me... I know all about sales tax... it\'s 25% in Denmark. :D / :crying:
Thanks again, it\'s quite interesting. :)
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Gov\'t Tax: My family paid last year 14% (Lots of deductions... ;) so that is about $14,000)
State Tax: None in FL
Property Tax: $1,400 on a $92,000 house
Vehicle Tax: about $100 for the two cars with charitable custom tags.
Sales Tax: 7%
Health Insurance: Tough to say since it\'s partially paid by employer, but we pay roughly 2,400 a year for the family.
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/me is happy that i will never have to pay taxes :D.
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Samwise, I can\'t remember what my local tax in DFW was - this was four years ago... but being single and making $60k a year... your takes would be somewhere around 25%.
There is not state income tax in Texas... and local really isn\'t that much... its $10 every 2 weeks for me... so figure on about $300 a year in local taxes if you have any.
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Originally posted by videoholic
Gov\'t Tax: My family paid last year 14% (Lots of deductions... ;) so that is about $14,000)
State Tax: None in FL
Property Tax: $1,400 on a $92,000 house
Vehicle Tax: about $100 for the two cars with charitable custom tags.
Sales Tax: 7%
Health Insurance: Tough to say since it\'s partially paid by employer, but we pay roughly 2,400 a year for the family.
Finally something good about Alabama! $500 on a $140,000 home! So most of the public schools in the area suck, there is a nice private school around the corner!
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Originally posted by Tyrant
/me is happy that i will never have to pay taxes :D.
I DON\'T want to hear about that. :p
BTW, do you have any jobs for a Dane? ;)
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There is no personal income tax in Texas, but I\'m pretty sure they still have a corporate income tax there (as well as many other varieties of taxes). They getcha one way or another.
I work for an accounting firm, so I have access to all manner of references on this subject. If you have any detailed questions, let me know Sammy.
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Originally posted by Tyrant
/me is happy that i will never have to pay taxes :D.
Why is that?:mad:
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Originally posted by Capcom
Why is that?:mad:
no taxes over here :p.
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Originally posted by Coredweller
There is no personal income tax in Texas, but I\'m pretty sure they still have a corporate income tax there (as well as many other varieties of taxes). They getcha one way or another.
I work for an accounting firm, so I have access to all manner of references on this subject. If you have any detailed questions, let me know Sammy.
Yeah Sammy ask him, he is either an accountant or close to it... I am just going off the top of my head giving you figures. ;)
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Well, thanks you all. I was just being curious... I can see myself moving to another country some time in the future... I\'m tired of having to give away 50-70% of my paycheck and paying 3 times the price for a car.
So, now the fight\'s between the US and Switzerland. ;)
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....................or Monaco ;)
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Originally posted by Kurt Angle
....................or Monaco ;)
Well, I don\'t speak French or what the hell they speak there. ;)
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Move to Switzerland, you wouldn\'t like it here. ;)
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Originally posted by Tyrant
/me is happy that i will never have to pay taxes :D.
Well with taxes you get good solid roads, good buildings, etc. etc. Considering the state that Iran is in right now, I wouldn\'t exactly flaunt no taxes.
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Tyrant pays no taxes because his country is oil rich. Their government pays everything for everyone, and then some. Am I correct?
Videoholic, the type of no-tax country you described is something entirely different. What good would it be to save money on taxes if you had to spend the savings on ammunition to defend your property because your nation is in anarchy?
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I forgot about their oil. That makes sense.
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I thought it was extremly hard to get Swiss citizenship?
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Originally posted by GigaShadow
I thought it was extremly hard to get Swiss citizenship?
Don\'t think it\'s that hard if you find a job there... haven\'t researched it all in details yet. :)
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Originally posted by THX
Move to Switzerland, you wouldn\'t like it here. ;)
Why is that? :)
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Originally posted by Coredweller
Tyrant pays no taxes because his country is oil rich. Their government pays everything for everyone, and then some. Am I correct?
not really Bahrain doesnt have as much oil as its neighbours, most of the money in our economy is generated thru banking. another part is generated by the oil refining industries (oil from neighbouring countries are refined here).
Originally posted by videoholic
Well with taxes you get good solid roads, good buildings, etc. etc. Considering the state that Iran is in right now, I wouldn\'t exactly flaunt no taxes.
actually our roads, buildings and other infrastructures are on par with those of most "western" countries.
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I dunno Sammy have you ever visited here? What did you think? Living in a place shouldn\'t be primarily focused on taxes, but how well you think your life would be if you plan on being there for a while. There are places here that are boring as hell, yet feel very safe. There are also cities that are rich with culture and social energy, but can be dangerous (black ppl with guns, asians with their kung fu).
Simply put I think the transition from a Euro country to another Euro country would be less "traumatic." That and Switzerland seems like a cool place. ;) In the end, choose which you think sports the best women.
PS- I have a good excuse for those ethnic slurs above so don\'t even try it. :D
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Originally posted by THX
I dunno Sammy have you ever visited here? What did you think? Living in a place shouldn\'t be primarily focused on taxes, but how well you think your life would be if you plan on being there for a while. There are places here that are boring as hell, yet feel very safe. There are also cities that are rich with culture and social energy, but can be dangerous (black ppl with guns, asians with their kung fu).
Simply put I think the transition from a Euro country to another Euro country would be less "traumatic." That and Switzerland seems like a cool place. ;) In the end, choose which you think sports the best women.
PS- I have a good excuse for those ethnic slurs above so don\'t even try it. :D
Yeah, there\'s probably some truth to that. While I don\'t think it would be impossible to adjust (living in the western world already and all ;)), the mentality in the US and Denmark would probably more different than Denmark and Switzerland. The only problem with moving to Switzerland is that I\'d have to speak German. And my English is somewhat better... hehe. Well, it\'s just a matter of taking the time to learn it properly (when in school you think you\'re never gonna find a use for it anyway :laughing: ).
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Originally posted by Tyrant
not really Bahrain doesnt have as much oil as its neighbours, most of the money in our economy is generated thru banking. another part is generated by the oil refining industries (oil from neighbouring countries are refined here).
actually our roads, buildings and other infrastructures are on par with those of most "western" countries.
So was the town that got hit by the earthquake more of an exception than the rule?
In other words, was it structurly a really old town compared to most of Iran?
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Originally posted by Coredweller
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Spammer. :p
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Where is Denmark?
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Let me say this for you, Sam.
America is a cesspool that should of been blown up along time ago. Don\'t move here. If it wasn\'t for the fact I have a job here and family here, I wouldn\'t live here. I\'d move to Canada or someplace. It\'s a cesspool.
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Originally posted by Jumpman
Where is Denmark?
Right above Germany, Europe (Scandinavia as well ;)).
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I never knew that Sam.
Lic, move to Canada, we have winter\'s with bizitches and wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing wing.
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Canada is cool, why haen\'t you thought about that place Sam? Not for me though, every trip has great scenery, and very safe places to visit but everything just seems boring and uneventful. I\'d prefer to live in the heart of Manhattan compared to Toronto.
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Originally posted by THX
Canada is cool, why haen\'t you thought about that place Sam? Not for me though, every trip has great scenery, and very safe places to visit but everything just seems boring and uneventful. I\'d prefer to live in the heart of Manhattan compared to Toronto.
It has crossed my mind actually. Dunno what kind of taxes those crazy Candians pay though. ;)
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I lived in Toronto for a month back in 1992. It was not to my liking, but maybe that was because it was FAWKING COLD. I don\'t need that kind of cold.
Then it\'s humid as hell in the summer, and not very enjoyable. Southern California or maybe Florida are the best places to live in North America. Actually Vancouver is nice too, but once again, too cold. :)
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Vancouver too cold?
QQ<---Crying eyes.
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Samwise:
Your PM box was full, so I\'m just going to post the answer to your question here. Sorry for boring everyone. :)
This should answer your question. Since I\'m not a tax professional, I chose not to paraphrase the tax code. I don\'t want to make a mistake in conveying the information. I already removed a bunch of info about exceptions and special circumstances, and tried to pare this down as small as possible. The part about capital gains tax rates in easy to pick out. All this info comes from the 2004 US Master Tax Guide published by CCH, Inc.
Also note this info defines only the US federal income tax, which is the largest portion of an individual\'s tax responsibility. Most states also apply their own income taxs, but they are much much smaller than the federal tax.
In order to determine whether a taxpayer\'s gains or losses are ordinary or capital in nature, it must be determined if the taxpayer entered into the transaction as an investor, dealer or trader. The following is an overview of how these terms are defined.
Investors. An investor is a taxpayer whose activities are limited to occasional transactions for his own account. The level of activity is less than that associated with a trade or business. Gains and losses of an investor are subject to the capital gains and loss rules.[/b]
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Tax on Capital Gains --Individual, Estate, Trust --2003
Generally, for sales prior to May 6, 2003, gain from the sale of long-term capital assets is subject to a maximum capital gains tax rate of 20% (10% for individuals in the 10% or 15% tax bracket). A lower rate of 8% (for individuals in the 10% or 15% tax bracket) may apply when the asset was held more than five years (Code Sec. 1(h)). [2004FED3260 ].
For sales after May 5, 2003, the maximum tax rates that are generally applied to long-term capital gains have been reduced:
(1) a 15% maximum rate replaces the 20% rate,
(2) a 5% rate replaces the 10% rate for individuals in a 10% or 15% tax bracket, and
(3) a 0% rate replaces the 5% rate for tax years beginning after December 31, 2007.
The higher capital gains rates for collectibles (i.e., 28%) and unrecaptured Section 1250 gain (i.e., 25%) still apply.
These capital gains rates apply to individuals, estates and trusts. In addition, the rates apply when a taxpayer is computing the income tax under the alternative minimum tax (AMT). Ssee 1401 for information on AMT.
Installment Payments. The lower capital gain rates apply to installment payments received on or after May 6, 2003. [2004FED 3260.033 ].
Dividend Income. Prior to 2003, dividend income was taxed at the same rate as an individual\'s ordinary income. Qualified dividend income received after December 31, 2002 is now taxed at the same rate used to calculate an individual\'s capital gains tax (i.e., 15% maximum, or 5% for those in the 10% or 15% tax brackets).
Investment Interest. When a taxpayer elects to treat any amount of net capital gain as investment interest under Code Sec. 163(d)(4)(B)(iii), then that amount is subtracted from the total net capital gain in order to determine the amount subject to the maximum capital gains rate. See 1094 regarding investment interest.
:gman:
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Taxes? Did someone say taxes?
I think for most of us, if you add up all the taxes you pay it probably ends up to be fifty percent or more.
Let\'s see: Income, state and federal. Property taxes, sales tax, gas tax etc. Then there are all the taxes that have another name like fees and tolls.
Granted I live in Taxachusetts but it still hurts. My property taxes are about $3,000.00 plus and the news is that it\'s going up this year another five percent. Sorry tenants but the rent is going up. My water bill, which I call a tax because I am part of forty cities who are paying extra to clean up Boston harbor, is about $2000.00 a year. It\'s a three family house but it\'s still crazy.
My head is ready to explode. I think I\'ll leave now. :mad:
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Texas\'s sales tax is 8.25% highest I believe if not one of the highest, but we don\'t pay personal income state taxes so I don\'t mind it.
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The Los Angeles County sales tax is also 8.25%, and Californians DO pay personal income tax as well.
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Isn\'t NYC something like 18%?
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Originally posted by Coredweller
Samwise:
Your PM box was full, so I\'m just going to post the answer to your question here. Sorry for boring everyone. :)
Thanks a lot! Sorry about my mailbox being full - you can blame Gman for that. ;)
:gman: [/B]
Damn right!
:gman:
:p
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tax? just my income tax alone is enough to pay off my car payment every month. DAMN 30% income tax!
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Originally posted by Living-In-Clip
Let me say this for you, Sam.
America is a cesspool that should of been blown up along time ago. Don\'t move here. If it wasn\'t for the fact I have a job here and family here, I wouldn\'t live here. I\'d move to Canada or someplace. It\'s a cesspool.
America is a large place, and my little corner of it is hardly a cesspool. Boring, yes. And the summers are nastily humid. But I still like it here.
So to correct, Sammy baby, America isn\'t a cesspool. Just don\'t move to wherever LIC lives.
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Have you ever stated where you actually live LIC?