#and some people might say those who buy have an unfair advantage but non purchases still got us boosts
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Thinking back to how idiots really said Taylor’s verfied fan system for rep tour was “ exploiting” her fans. Bruh I’d do absolutely anything to go back to watching her eat food off her shirt for tickets.
#idk if it would work now bc the demand is still Al much higher#and some people might say those who buy have an unfair advantage but non purchases still got us boosts#it was much more fair than bots#I LITERALLY HAVE POST ON HERE DEFENDING THAT SYSTEM#tm hated it bc they didn’t make enough money#there was even articles saying she’s exploiting us and forcing kids to do her marketing#I can’t believe I ever complained about having to watch her eat food off her shirt#verfied fan#I think like other countries US really needs to have scalping laws#this is why I’m such a rep girl#TAKE ME BACK
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Hassle Free Car Leasing
When you've finally decided that you might need a car, it's time go for one. Make a list of what you desire and need in a car. The Internet is the perfect place come across. A lot of new and used car dealers and sales have an online prescence so that buyers can search for that car without too much hassle. When you see a car online that appeals to you, call the car dealer or perhaps private owner and find out the car leasing websites. Take a look at the car personally, don't jump into anything even though the car looks nice outside, cause the necessary inspections and investigations. Just make sure to check for any lien on vehicle need to buying between a private shower. An auto mall is also a place to surf if there's one with your city, because all the various dealers are there, even auto approach. Do car leasing websites have got an older version from the model searching at? - If you're looking at a 2010 VW Golf will be price is often a little higher than you have to have to pay, the dealer might connect to some 2009 VW stock that is priced much cheaper. Rather than stretch yourself, ask the salesperson when have additional VW Golfs in stock that are an earlier edition or it become an ex-demonstration. You should try checking your latest credit profile a quarter or so before obtaining a car subaru dealer long island since the process of correcting the errors throughout your credit history usually are almost 4 weeks. Due to this, filing your complaint or petition that would correct result ahead your own time is necessary. How can you go about finding and landing the subaru dealer long island possible auto lease issue? The first thing that you might have do is check on the lease any kind of down payment. If it requires one, this means you for you to pay up a great deal of money, payable in cash or credit. Down payments can additionally be paid indicates of non cash trading allowances. If think that down payment probably will not be an aspect of exceptional auto lease deal, anyone should avoid lease demands them. Car Leasing and buying are two similar yet different "finance products" which usually are designed for different target groups; it is definitely an unfair statement if one person says if leasing may be the worst decision without the actual situation of their car buyer. So let's compare lease and buy in subsequent areas. Find out about the history best auto lease deals of largest. If heading to order from a non franchised dealer then in addition to are likely to want to learn a extra about who you're buying from, most desirable? When you contact with dealers, you shouldn't keep flexible in option of car. If you have flexibility, have got a far better bargaining position with new car vendors. Try to have a "take it or leave it" attitude when together with salespeople. You're surprised just how much they arrive down after "going to with their manager". Speak to the sales team director and let him express refer a seasoned person to you, who knows how consider care of his prospective buyers. Most of the time, when leasing, the payment decreases if you lease best auto lease deals for a extended period in time. A car I just leased, however, had a lower payment for 33 month instead of 36 or 48 long months. Make sure an individual all on the options from my salesperson so that you tend to make an informed decision. Some websites are set to help people calculate their car payment. Choose one of those kinds net sites and log in it. The calculator will state you the amount you will be able to expend a motor. If you already have an idea in regards to amount money you can afford, just go with that amount. A down payment is important, depending on the price on the car purchase. Make sure you can to afford a subaru dealer long island payment, causing it support your payments lower. The terms along with the interest rate of mortgage must be used seriously. A person economic situation is not true well, I would recommend you select a longer term. Meanwhile decent credit record can to be able to get a lending product at lower rate. After all the relevant information has been keyed easily into you should just possible until the calculator has done its accomplish the task. Generally you can expect for a result back in as little as minutes. What you will really normally have access to is a figure for that monthly repayments you will be expected create against the sum you are wanting to borrow. If happen to be looking for van leasing for a quick trip it is subaru dealer long island you consider cheap car leasing seeing that it will be adequate for your targeted needs. These directory sites and companies even consider van leasing for transportation and start on near future deals. Another advantage of loans leasing is the fact , you can remain immune from car value depreciation. You will be can even buy out the car once it ends its contract yet still be that will resell the software. One with the major hassles of selling a vehicle is making an application for what automobile is really worth. If you're going to dealerships to sell your subaru dealer long island, you'll likely have to do serious list as studying them will severely undervalue your ensuring new.
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Funding the Unfunded, and Their Mandate
The Unfunded Mandate is a legal contradiction and humanitarian nightmare that is also antibusiness. It needs a permanent fix, not a modification, adjustment, reconciliation, and most definitely not Washington style “reform.”
What is the Unfunded Mandate?
In 1986, Congress passed EMTALA (Emergency Medical Transport and Active Labor Act), colloquially called the anti-dumping law. Its ostensible purpose was to prevent one hospital from “dumping” (transferring without medical justification) a critically ill patient or women in labor to another hospital because the patient has no money or insurance. Dumping would allow the first hospital to avoid paying the costs of very expensive care for which it will get no payment.
EMTALA created a new class of patients called the Unfunded Mandate. These patients receive very expensive care for which neither hospital nor providers will be paid. Of course they — institution and physicians — must still pay their own expenses, from nurses’ salaries to electric bills.
Very, very large sums of money are involved. Four years ago at my own medical center, the cost of uncompensated care for the “unfunded” was $233,000,000, which represented one quarter of the Hospital’s entire annual operating budget. Can you name any industry where federal law requires individual businesses to give away 25% of their goods and services, and stay in business while prohibited from raising prices?!
Hospitals are forced to do whatever they have to in order to keep their doors open: over-charge insured patients, $2 per aspirin, double billing, creative accounting, up-coding, cherry picking patients, etc. Many are illegal and yet are done every day. Further, hospitals aggressively go after insured patients who have unpaid bills — the underinsured.
Who are the “Unfunded”?
Most assume that “unfunded” is synonymous with uninsured. While unfunded certainly includes the 45-50 million Americans who have no health insurance, there are tens of millions more who are also unfunded or underfunded–the underinsured for whom insurance doesn’t protect.
Contrary to public belief, health insurance is not supposed to pay for care. It is intended to protect the families from financial disaster in the event of a very large medical bill, one they cannot afford to pay. The millions of Americans who signed up for ACA Bronze level insurance are part of the unfunded. They have a 40% co-pay which makes them under-insured in the event of any illness that requires hospitalization.
According to the Commonwealth Fund 2012 Biennial Health Insurance Survey, as many as 84 million Americans who are insured through their employers do not sufficient coverage to avoid bankruptcy in the event of major illness.
Do not forget our veterans. They wait forever to see a doctor because they are “unfunded.” VA hospitals have insufficient funds as well as inadequate systems and culture to provide care in a timely manner to those who need it now.
When you include all the groups above, “unfunded” refers to essentially every American.
Funding the Unfunded
Systems thinkers say the best way to “fix” a problem is to dissolve it: change the system so the problem ceases to exist. We can dissolve the unfunded mandate — by funding it.
Create Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for all 320,000,000 Americans, whether citizen or not. Fund these HSAs out of tax dollars, and allow people to put in more if they wish without limit.
Allow the money to accumulate over time: no use-it-or-lose-it. HSA funds can only be used for medical expenses and health insurance. Mandate that every American purchase at least catastrophic health insurance that pays out when some upper limit of dollars expended is reached, for instance, a sizeable fraction of the total amount in the HSA.
There is ample precedent for such a mandate. First there is Medicare, which for decades has been taking out a certain amount each month for medical spending after age 65. Then there is the ACA penalty tax for not purchasing insurance. Other countries have similar mandates.
In Germany, the government takes money out each month from every citizen to pay for health insurance that the individual chooses. If the person is working, it comes out of payroll. If unemployed, it comes out of unemployment benefits. If retired, it comes out of pension distributions. By law, every German citizen must have insurance. Non-citizens are not included.
The Budget
Conservatives will instantly react: where is the money coming from? How will we fund it? That is actually the easy part. Consider how much money Medicaid, Medicare, and ACA subsidies expend through insurance intermediaries and don’t forget to include the cost of their massive bureaucracies.
Now imagine that we place $5000 per year in personal HSAs. With 320,000,000 Americans, that equals $1.6 trillion. According a newly released Deloitte study, in 2012 the U.S. spent $3.4 trillion on healthcare when our population was 313 million. Thus, two years ago, before the ACA was implemented, the U.S. spent $10,863 on every man, woman, child and baby in this country, more than double what a “Universal HSA” Plan would cost.
And, oh by the way, that $5000 would pay for health care not healthcare BARRC-bureaucracy, administration, rules, regulations, and compliance.
What about the poor?
In 2012, the U.S. spent $8290 for every Medicaid enrollee ($415 billion÷50 million people). Putting $5000 per person into HSAs to cover their insurance and medical costs would save $165,000,000,000 dollars a year.
While certainly there is a primary altruistic purpose to pay for medical care for the poor, there are also practical, fiscal advantages. A healthier populace is both less expensive and will generate more GDP, whether citizen or non-citizen. Further, there is the personal responsibility that comes with managing one’s own health care dollars.
What about illegal (“undocumented”) residents?
At present, illegal residents comprise a major portion of the cost of the unfunded mandate. They are not eligible for either Medicaid or ACA subsidies and typically are uninsured. Yet they need medical care and end up generating large uncompensated costs that force the hospital to “get creative,” or close their doors. The Census bureau reports that at least 59% of illegal residents pay taxes.
For ethical as well as practical reasons, the undocumented should get HSAs like citizens, and then they should pay for their own insurance and their own care just like everyone else. Those who might balk at paying $65 billion a year ($5000*15 million people), keep in mind you are paying more than that right now because of the Unfunded Mandate with illegals showing up in ERs.
In universal health care countries, the undocumented are generally excluded from the national mandate to provide care. Go ask two million Turkish guest worker, non-citizens in Germany where and if they can get medical care.
At present, the issue of mandated care without compensation for people who are in the U.S. illegally is unfair, unethical, inconsistent, and avoidably expensive. Let’s discuss it openly and decide what to do by consensus.
What about seniors?
Most seniors have paid in to the Medicare Trust for 40 years. They should be bought out, i.e., the amount they put in plus some nominal growth factor should be placed in individual HSAs. The cost of care for seniors would plummet, as Medicare would cease to be controller of our health care and return to its original model–a mandatory savings account for retirement. Medicare fraud would cease to exist as the individual carefully watches his or her own funds, and no one is billing the government.
Fully insured yet unfunded!
This is certainly the most worrisome group – those who have full coverage but cannot get the care they need.
Government has only one way to “cuts costs” – by medical rationing. Thus, ACA’s IPAB (Independent payment Advisory Board), tasked with cutting costs, will make certain high-dollar items like chemotherapy, kidney dialysis or heart surgery, unavailable to people over certain ages or possibly with genetic disorders. That will cut costs by denying care. Their catch phrase could be dead patients are cheap patients.
A person's insurance might be fully funded; the patient might even have a well-funded HSA; but if the care is not funded (authorized), then effectively, that patient is unfunded. He or she will not receive necessary, even life-saving, care. This is happening right now in Great Britain.
Conclusion
Funding the Unfunded Mandate with some Universal HSA Plan would dramatically reduce spending on healthcare and would be self-sustaining. Neither of those statements is true for our current healthcare system. Universal HSAs would eliminate a massive, inefficient, and wasteful federal (and State) healthcare bureaucracy. The Plan would restore economic (buying) power to the consumer and thus infuse free market forces into healthcare. There would be strong buyer incentives to economize as well as competition among sellers, neither of which exists at present.
I often use the phrase We The Patients to emphasize our commonality: we are all patients or we will be. Unfortunately, We The Patients are also We The Unfunded. We must fund ourselves.
Read More click here:- Fixing US Healthcare
you can see Related blog on Tumblr: - Affordable Healthcare
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Strategies For Locking in the Ideal Mortgage Rate
Before you provide your application information, be certain the Home Mortgage Loan Officer agrees to supply you with a genuine Speed Lock confirmation via email or facsimile on the identical day you apply for your loan. Whenever you get the Rate Lock http://reversemortgagesandi.jigsy.com/entries/general/The-Facts-About-the-Mortgage-Market-in-Canada-For-Prospective-Homeowners confirmation, assess it and ensure that you are Locked-In to get the range of required days (30, 45 or 60), with the correct Loan Form (30 Year Fixed, 15 Year Fixed, etc.)with all the proper Total Factors quoted. It's normal to get a lender to take one to apply over the telephone before they will Lock-In your house Mortgage Rate. How are you going to compare quotes for those who don't know that which quotes are real and which are a part of a baitandswitch plan? The sole method to ensure getting real quotes will be always to stay in the Home Mortgage Loan Officers simply by making them think you are ready to Lock-In a home loan Rate instantly.Hint Number 3: Always Tell Your Mortgage Loan Officer You Are Ready to Apply For A Loan NOWTip#9: Get Your Final Very Good Faith Estimate Several Days Ahead Of Loan Closing Mortgage Prices change every day and some times mid day. The previous day's rates typically expire by 8:30 a.m. the following morning. Broadly speaking, mortgage Rates are published daily by 11:00 a.m. Eastern time. This varies from lender to lender. To make sure you are receiving home loan Rates from today and not just a mixture of rates out of the previous day from several lenders and also the current rates from different creditors, always do your rate shopping after 11:00% Eastern moment. You have to nail this down when you speak to a mortgage Loan Officer.Tip #1: Always Shop For Mortgage RatesIf the home loan Officer believes you might be inclined to FLOAT your Rate and Factors, he may say,"that I feel that the prices are going to be coming down, and that means you might wish to FLOAT". Bear in mind this, never FLOAT your own Home Mortgage Rate. Never. Consistently Lock-In the Rate and Points. If you FLOAT, and the Discount Points for Home Mortgage Rates drop, then you will only realize the main benefit of some little part of the drop in the Points, if any at all. The house Mortgage Loan Officer will continue to keep the rest of the savings as a fat commission. Some businesses quote really low prices and bring lots of software, but they don't allow you to Lock-In until 15 Days prior to loan closing. If you try to apply for a Mortgage via a company with this policy, then you can get screwed. If it is the right time for you to Lock-In your Mortgage Rate, you can cover an"over age" that may go straight to the home loan Officers pocket. You can cover more things for the speed you've asked during that time of application or you'll get a greater speed. Either way, you'll get screwed and the Loan Officer can get a fat over-age included with his commission. Additionally, ask for a list of the rest of the fees that will show up on the fantastic Faith Estimate that you will be committing to the Bank or Broker. Make sure they include their Credit Report and Evaluation Fees. Some creditors charge you lumpsum fee and that includes the credit file and Appraisal Fees while other creditors will itemize each fee. Keep it simple and request all the fees, including the fee of the credit report and appraisal fees. Get all your quotes after 11:00 a.m. Eastern time.TipNo 6:: Compute The Dollar Cost Of Your Points And Add All FeesHint Number 5: Always Confirm The Rate Lock Period When Seeking A Rate QuoteFLOATING is a LOSE/LOSE suggestion for you and a WIN/WIN for the Home Mortgage Loan Officer.Hint No 4: Request Your Total Points And The Overall FeesTip#7: When You've Discovered The Lowest Cost Rate, Apply and Lock The RateSome times home loan Rates change mid day because of volatile bond market. While this happens, some home-mortgage Lenders will correct the Discount Points due to their rates in agreement with the new bond prices and also publish brand new Home Mortgage Rates for this day. Additional Lenders may continue to honor their own dawn prices. If your rate lock expires, then the lending institution will re-lock you at higher of either the first rate or even the present rate when you make the decision to re-lock. That is a LOSE/LOSE situation for you. Never let your rate lock expire.You may want to look at the quoted percent using what is in your own primary application Reverse Mortgage Lenders records and final loan records to guarantee the Monthly Mortgage payment isn't higher than what you were quoted. When it is, make it paid off instantly. If they wont do so, then ask them to decrease your Home Mortgage Rate by.125% and which should pay for the difference. Some creditors will merely quote the Discount Points and deliberately exit the Loan Origination Fee. You won't learn about the 1.00 Point Loan Origination Fee until you apply for the Mortgage. At the point, the loan-officer figures you will only accept it because he's got your application and pulled your credit history. Moreover, Mortgage Agents frequently neglect to mention that their Broker Fee. If you're getting a government guaranteed mortgage (FHA or VA), you don't have to get into a comparison of the FHA MIP or your VA Funding Fee. This is really a set you back will soon end up paying, however every creditor MUST utilize exactly the exact expenses, thus there is no reason to attempt to compare the costs from lender to lender. If you are purchasing a house and you also need 60 days to close, make sure that you specifically request Mortgage Cost quotes with a 60-day Lock interval. Some home loan Loan Officers will quote rates with 15 Day or one month Lock spans because the Discount Points for shorter lock periods are somewhat less than rate locks for longer spans. Quoting a house Mortgage Rate with a 15 Day lease period demonstrably gives that Loan Officer a unfair advantage. It is also a waste of your time and effort as the quotation isn't real if you can not settle your loan within 1-5 days. Consistently specify a 60 Day Lock-In if you're buying a home. Request 4-5 Days if you are refinancing, however you may have the ability to get it done within 1 month if you are quite diligent and telephone your home loan Loan Officer twice each week for an area of your application. The cost of Mortgage Insurance can differ from lender to lender despite the fact that many mortgage Loan Officers will state,"We do not see the Mortgage Insurance policy, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do". Your can only say,"Please humor me and offer the regular monthly Mortgage Insurance expressed as a percent". Mortgage Loan Officers that work of a referral system of Realtors and Builders don't have to have competitive Home mortgage-rates because they've a steady flow of"Drones" (people that are known to them and also don't shop) telephoning them. Check around, have the lowest cost home loan Rate, and if you are inclined, approach the"preferred" Loan Officer you were referred to and have him to complement with the quotation. If you are purchasing a home, tell the mortgage Loan Officer you are Rate shopping and you have a"ratified contract" to purchase a home. Tell him you mean to create a decision and Lock-In an interest rate on such day, however, you have to check a couple other lenders. In case he asks you the way his rates compare to the others, tell him he's the first person who you've called. If you're refinancing, then tell the home loan Loan Officer you might be prepared to try to qualify for a Refinance mortgage to day. If you never tell him that, he may offer a bogus home loan Rate quote. If you submit an application for a property Mortgage through a favorite lender , you can pay hundreds or maybe thousands of dollars at additional costs.Tip No 2: Call For Mortgage Quotes After 11:00 a.m. Eastern TimeA lender will quote these in a Good Faith Estimate, however these charges aren't related to costs associated with a Mortgage Rate quote. The sum required for the own escrow account won't change from lender to lender and Name Company and Attorney Fees aren't being charged by the lending company. Do not include them in your own comparison.
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Do not blindly accept a Realtor or Builder referral to submit an application for a property Mortgage through their favorite lender. Often times they are going to say,"We work closely for this particular guy and that gets the job done". Keep in mind, the Realtor won't be paying off the bill every month for another 30 decades, you'll. After you've spent any time conversing with a whole lot of Mortgage Loan Officers, you will have lots of Rates, Points and Charges in a sheet of newspaper. You will need to calculate the money cost of the Points (multiply the mortgage number X the Total Factors expressed as a percent; as an example, multi ply 400,000 mortgage amount X.625 percent to.625 Factors ). Then put in the dollar price of these points into the Overall Fees. After that you can compare each mortgage Lender's Total Cost (dollar price of these points + each of lender related fees) for a given rate. This may reveal that Home Mortgage Lender gets the cheapest mortgage Rates. Loan Officers know you may likely keep in touch with yet another lender with lower home loan Rates and the only way they can be sure that you call him back will be to offer you a fake quote that appears to be the best. He is hoping you'll rate look for several days and figures you will call him in a day or 2 because he provided a non, counterfeit rate quotation. Also, since mortgage Rates change daily and are susceptible to change at any moment, he's not concerned about giving you a fake quotation. If Mortgage Insurance (not to be confused with mortgage life insurance) is required on a Traditional Home Mortgage, ask to your cost per year expressed as a percent and compare it from lender to lender. Some creditors require different levels of coverage and this will affect your monthly Mortgage Insurance payment. In addition, lenders use a number of different mortgage companies and so they charge different prices for their coverage. The lender will choose the mortgage insurance company. This is the way they increase their commission once you FLOAT. Originally, the creditor lent 4.875percent with 1.00 Total Point once you requested your loan. Afterward 4-5 days after you called to Lock-In. Remember that within the 45 day period that you just were FLOATING, the actual Points for 4.875% fell to.250 Total Factors. So you have to have stored.75 Total Points in your own 4.875% rate. Right? No! To begin with, that you have no idea if his business's things have dropped or by just how much they might have dropped. So, rather than providing you with 4.875% for.250 Total Points, the mortgage Loan Officer tells you that his rates simply dropped a little bit. He says you can Lock-In 4.875percent for.75 Total Factors. You're happy as it is.25 lower than what it was once you applied for the loan, however the mortgage Loan Officer is ecstatic because he keeps 50% the"overage" you paidoff. This over age is.50 points also he divides this along with his own company. In case the mortgage amount was $400,000, he simply earned.25% which is one more $1000 commission. That is not bad for a five minute phone conversation. Get a copy of the Closing Great Faith Estimate at least a day or two before the scheduled final day. Assess the Mortgage Rate, Points, Fees and Regular Mortgage Insurance Premium (if applicable). Ensure you will get just what you bargained for. Ask questions if you don't understand something. Demand that undisclosed prices be taken off the Final Good Faith Estimate. Make sure you receive a revised estimate if the home mortgage Officer actually agrees to create changes. When you were searching for houses or contemplating refinancing, you may possibly have shopped around and gotten some quotes from lenders and narrowed your search down to the most effective 5 home loan Lenders or Brokers. But if it really is time to apply for the Mortgage, ensure to upgrade your quotes to your 5 lowest priced Home lenders. When you identify the Home Mortgage Lender with the lowest cost rate, telephone and submit an application to your loan. Tell Your Home Mortgage Loan Officer you Need to Lock-In your Mortgage Rate and employ NOW. If the quote has changed as you upgraded your quotes a couple of hours before, tell the Loan Officer you need him to honor the last quotation. If he wont do it, then tell him you will call backagain. Subsequently call the next lowest House Mortgage Lender on your list. If this lender tells you exactly the identical task, you are able to return back to the lender and proceed with the application procedure.
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These 5 hilariously ridiculous rules are why our tax system favors the rich.
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Since the first federal progressive income tax was introduced in 1913, most Americans have fairly assumed that, come mid-April, the more money you earn, the more money you pay.
Rage! Photo via iStock.
But, oh boy, does it ever not work that way.
Examples of stupendously wealthy people paying hilariously low percentages of their income in taxes aren't hard to track down. See, for example, Warren Buffet paying a lower tax rate than his secretary or Donald Trump paying an effective tax rate of 25% in 2005 — far lower than the top marginal rate that year of 35% — despite earning $150 million.
If the tax code had been designed by, say, a coalition of teachers, construction workers, and fry cooks, things might be different. Unfortunately, the laws determining who pays what and why are written by members of Congress, who, as of 2012, had a median net worth of just a wee bit over $1 million. From their perspective, it's not hard to see that "How can I structure the tax code to make buying gas and going to the doctor a little more affordable?" might be a less pressing question than, say, "Should solid gold busts of Ayn Rand be deductible?"
To be sure, many rich people do pay more in taxes than middle- or working-class Americans, just less more than they might otherwise. And it's hard to blame the wealthy for taking full advantage of a system designed to benefit them. Don't hate the player, the saying goes, hate the game.
The Game probably pays a lower effective tax rate than you. Photo by Eva Rinaldi/Flickr (cropped).
But the game, such as it is, is rigged (SAD!).
So while most of us prepare to part with around a third of our hard-earned cash trying to decide if it's legal to write off as a business expense the $13.79 in tissues we bought to wipe away our tears, here are some of the rules that make it easier for the wealthy to play.
1. There's a tax break for vacation homes.
Let's say you live in a tiny apartment in a major American city, paying your landlord hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars a month to sleep in a glorified coat closet. You typically don't get to write off your rent on your federal taxes.
Your rent. Photo via iStock.
But if you were among those privileged enough to have the means to buy a house or condo or downtown triplex with a sweet view, you would get to deduct the interest you'd pay on your mortgage.
"OK sure," you might be thinking, "People who can buy houses are generally doing better financially than those who can't, but there are a lot of homeowners in America, and I hope to be one someday." And that's true, so far as it goes.
If you're really doing well, however, one house might not be enough. Sometimes you just have to spring for that little fixer-upper in the Poconos or that sprawling beach compound in the Outer Banks or that $90-million condo on 5th Avenue.
So close to the Apple Store! Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images.
In that case, you get to deduct the interest on the mortgage for your second house too!
As far as tax breaks that favor the already-pretty-damn-favored are concerned, the second home deduction is, alas, one of the more egalitarian, as it advantages both the only-sort-of-rich and the ridiculously rich — and you can only write off a total of $1.1 million in debt. Furthermore, the rule doesn't apply if you're so rich you just buy the house outright, nor does it apply to the third, fourth, ninth, and 12th homes owned by your average Gates, Bloombergs, and Zuckerbergs.
But the fact remains that taking out mortgages on more than one house gets you federal tax relief, while renting a studio apartment, mobile home, or infuriatingly twee tiny house doesn't.
Thanks to the U.S. tax code, it owns to own.
2. If you're rich enough to buy a yacht, you can probably write off a big chunk of it.
What makes a house a home? A cozy reading nook by the fire? Happy memories? The love and affection of all those you hold near and dear?
According to the U.S. tax code, if you can eat, sleep, and pee in it, it's a home — which means that this:
Photo by Myrabella/Wikimedia Commons.
...counts as a home, making it eligible for the mortgage interest tax break.
Some politicians have tried to exempt yachts from the second home deduction in recent years. It hasn't happened yet, partly because there are an absurd number of ways to get out of paying your full share of taxes on your yacht. Some states go out of their way to make superboats more affordable to your average Koch brother, DeVos sibling, or Soros quintuplet by capping the amount of sales tax you have to pay on them.
(L-R) George, Brad, Benghazi, Obamaphone, and #HillaryDid9/11 Soros. Photos by VCG/Getty Image, Spencer Platt/Getty Images, Eric Piermont/AFP/Getty Images, Sean Gallup/Getty Images.
Even better, if you rent out your yacht to slightly less wealthy people some of the time, you can usually deduct the whole purchase price and some of the insurance and maintenance fees as a business expense.
Pretty sweet! You should probably get a yacht!
3. While people who earn high salaries pay more in income tax, many wealthy people make a lot of non-salary income, and that's taxed at a lower rate.
If you're a single person making $1 million in salary, you're paying the top federal income tax rate — which for 2016 means 39.6% on every dollar over $415,050. That's way lower than it was in 1944, when the top rate was a whopping 94%. It's even lower than just over 30 years ago during the early years of the Reagan administration, when the top earners were paying 50%. Still, it's a solid chunk of change. Mercifully, for many super wealthy Americans, only a small portion of their annual income comes from working at an actual salaried job.
Enter capital gains!
"Money?" "Money." "Money money." "Money?" "MONEY!" Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images.
The best part about already having a buttload of money is that your money can make you even more money. If you're rich, you can take the cash you already have and invest it — in stock, or real estate, or apps called Moob that deliver fish bones to elderly Methodists, or what have you. And the best part? The cash you make when your assets post a gain is taxed at a mere 15-20%. That means if your trust fund does well, or if your 15th home increases in value, you might pay a lower tax rate on that gain than a nurse's aide pays on her $18/hour salary.
If that tax rate seems unfair, then you obviously haven't heard about the Newtian Pository. It's a philosophical concept I just made up that means "hahahahaha screw you and your 'job' that pays you a 'barely living wage.' If you want to get ahead in life, stop crying and own a landfill, or a Monet, or a bunch of Google, you dingbat!"
4. Rich people who own a lot of stock don't have to pay taxes on it if it increases in value — as long as they die before selling it.
Teddy is survived by his son Teddy Jr., his fifth wife Polankia, and a $75 million portfolio. Photo via iStock.
This is called "step-up in basis," one of those purposely complicated phrases used to obscure a pretty simple concept that would send poor people in the direction of the nearest flaming pitchfork store if anyone ever decided to, you know, actually explain it clearly.
So I'm gonna try to do that, by way of a totally hypothetical example.
Imagine you're a hard-charging New York City real estate billionaire type — "Ronald Bump," let's say. You buy 100,000 shares of stock at $1/share. To do this, you lay out $100,000 — an entire life savings for some, but chump change to a member of the Bump dynasty.
Let's say you, Ronald Bump, get lucky, and over the next 30 years, the stock increases in value to $100/share. Your $100,000 has magically become $10 million! If you sell it, you'd net a cool $9.9 million — but you'd pay taxes on it (albeit at the previously mentioned, already ludicrously low capital gains rate), leaving you with a mere $7.4 million or thereabouts.
But let's say you don't sell, and one day, when you're out grabbing a caviar bagel with gold leaf cream cheese, you get hit by a bus.
The Bus of Tragedy. Photo by Adam E. Moreira/Wikimedia Commons.
The bus really does a number on you, flattening your legs, rib cage, and most of your vital organs. Then, trying to determine the cause of the light whump that momentarily inconvenienced its passengers, the bus backs up, pancaking your head. Finally, seeing no cause for special concern, it speeds away, running you over a third time, knocking your body into a ditch to be eaten by crows.
How horrible. You're dead now.
Because you're dead, your son — let's call him Ronald Bump Jr. — inherits your giant portfolio. When he sells it, he only has to pay taxes on any gains the investment makes beyond the $9.9 million — regardless that the stock was originally purchased for just $100,000. He can go his merry way a full almost-$10 million richer, convinced of his own singular brilliance, free to hunt endangered mammals and approvingly reply to racists on Twitter with the comfort of a nest egg to make his economic anxiety disappear.
And the meritocracy triumphantly soldiers on.
The bottom line, if you hold stock until you die and pass it on to your kids, spouse, or golden retriever, neither you, nor they ever have to pay taxes on the value it accrued in your lifetime. Pretty sweet!
5. A lot of rich families don't have to pay taxes on the money they pass on to their heirs, even though there's a tax theoretically designed to make that happen.
"We repossess about 379 of these bad boys a day. Mwa-ha-ha-ha!" — the government, probably. Image via iStock.
To hear anti-tax advocates tell it, millions of hardworking Americans are subject to an evil "death tax," whereupon soulless government brownshirts descend en masse to rip the family farm away from Junior not nine seconds after Ma and Pa's untimely death in a freakish tumbleweed accident. It's the sort of thing that gets decent people riled up, demanding answers and installing electric fencing around their property. How could Uncle Sam be so heartless? So cruel? So greedy?
The thing is, most Americans aren't wealthy enough to be subjected to the "death tax" — more properly known as the estate tax. If you leave a small retirement account, family home, or a couple of used toasters and $50 to your kids when you pass away, the IRS won't send you an invoice.
The tax only applies to estates being passed down that are worth over $5.4 million. So unless Ma and Pa's farmhouse looks like this:
Photo by Government and Heritage Library, State of North Carolina/Flickr.
You're probably not going to see a tax on it.
Yes, super rich people — your aforementioned Gates, Bloomberg and Zuckerberg dynasties — do have to pay estate taxes, and thank Zod. And, yes, it's good that middle class families don't have to pay it. Meanwhile, lots of pretty rich people (albeit not Gates, Bloomberg, or Zuckerberg rich) are making out great under the current system, even as activists try to do away with the tax altogether, because the net worth limit for when the tax kicks in is so high that those families don't have to pay anything at all either — which allows dynastic wealth to keep on piling up.
As recently as 2004, the estate tax kicked in at $1.5 million. The current limit of $5.4 million is, frankly, a crap-ton of money to be able to pass down tax-free.
Even without such a high estate tax threshold, kids would be able to keep using the heirloom kitchen appliances long after their parents are gone.
Unfortunately, with the limit currently in the stratosphere, it also means that Junior can keep up the Kobe beef farm as he rides his platinum-hulled tractor into the sunset.
Considering all the deductions, loopholes, and advantages already in place, it's sort of weird that Congress' next priority is to reduce the tax burden on the wealthiest Americans even more.
After Republicans wrap up their will-they-or-won't-they dance with the American Health Care Act, Congress plans to tackle "tax reform," so-called because it "reforms" more money into the pockets of rich people. Among the proposed changes to the tax code: lowering the top income tax rate from 39.6% to 33%, lowering the corporate tax rate to 20%, and completely eliminating the estate tax.
Someday son, much of this will be yours, tax free! Photo via iStock.
But as we've seen numerous times these past few months, America doesn't have to let it happen!
Calling your representatives worked to scuttle the first go-around of the AHCA, and it can work to put the kibosh on the current tax reform plan too.
It won't be easy. But after helping kill a suspect federal law, and finishing and filing your taxes, you'll definitely have earned a nice vacation.
May I suggest buying a yacht?"
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