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US Senate passes sweeping tax overhaul bill

bbc.com

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Re: US Senate passes sweeping tax overhaul bill

#111

Post by WillPostForFood »

djur wrote: post #86
WillPostForFood wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

increase the uninsured rate substantially If people choose to drop insurance because they aren't mandated to buy it, then it is on them increase the deficit dramatically certainly true trigger automatic cuts to Medicare This is the only reason I'm replying, because there is no way that it will happen. No one wants cuts, and it would be political poison. Claiming it is fear mongering (not you, but the people using it…

Mitch McConnell's word is worth nothing. Republicans are already talking about "entitlement reform", aka cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Any hope that the GOP will avoid a particular course of action because it's "political suicide" should be dead and buried after the last year. As for the uninsured rate, eliminating the mandate will not only cause people to voluntarily drop insurance but also involu…

Republicans may well attempt to cut/reform entitlements, but it won't be because of the tax bill triggering mandatory cuts. That is the fear mongering piece.

The effect of eliminating the mandate is unclear. People paying the fine to not have insurance will surely stop. People who have insurance now, should keep it. But it the insurance is so worthless to them that think it isn't worth having, hopefully it will motivate smarter fix than simply mandating it. Poor people will still continue to get their insurance paid for.

Re: US Senate passes sweeping tax overhaul bill

#112

Post by WillPostForFood »

gergles wrote: post #104
WillPostForFood wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hrrmm, you must have read the bill 12 hours ago, before Susan Collins got her amendment added. The Senate tax bill will include my SALT amendment to allow taxpayers to deduct up to $10,000 for state and local property taxes. https://twitter.com/SenatorCollins/status/936647024417615872 But as others have pointed out, this still can change as it goes to reconciliation.

State and local property taxes, which I don't believe were ever in question. I'm fairly confident SALT, in this context, referred to the deductibility of state and local income taxes.

You are right that state income tax is no longer deductible. SALT in the Collins context was referring to just property tax.

Re: US Senate passes sweeping tax overhaul bill

#113

Post by WillPostForFood »

dingaling wrote: post #94
WillPostForFood wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the main reasons large corporations pay no tax is that they hide the money in other countries with lower corporate tax rates. You can argue that it is a race to the bottom, or ineffective for other reasons, but the lower corporate tax rate is an attempt to deal with the issue, and get a cut of that money, albeit at a lower rate.

But if private citizens were able to park their income offshore I am fairly sure the response wouldn't be to lower income taxes.

It is a matter of complexity, and quantity. Wealthy private citizens do park money offshore via trusts and other mechanisms. It wouldn't be a good trade-off to lower tax rates to lure it back, because it is at such a smaller scale than the corporate parking.

Re: US Senate passes sweeping tax overhaul bill

#114

Post by anigbrowl »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #100
anigbrowl wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an activist (both on the street and in legislative fora) that's garbage. People absolutely work on all phases of the democratic process here.

> As an activist that's garbage What’s garbage? > People absolutely work on all phases of the democratic process here One, which here? Two, I think we are saying the same thing. (OP said “protesting is virtually impossible.” I said that impossibility is a myth.)

Garbage saying that people are apathetic and lazy.

Here in the Bay Area.

Re: US Senate passes sweeping tax overhaul bill

#115

Post by anigbrowl »

francamps wrote: post #20
TAForObvReasons wrote: post #6

For those who didn't watch the proceedings, https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DQAYbwpU8AELZa0.jpg was one of the actual pages of the bill, quite literally handwritten scribbled margin notes.

Source?

S/he gave you a source. If you don't think it's adequate you should say why. PBS has a good reputation for veracity.

Re: US Senate passes sweeping tax overhaul bill

#117

Post by JumpCrisscross »

anigbrowl wrote: post #114
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As an activist that's garbage What’s garbage? > People absolutely work on all phases of the democratic process here One, which here? Two, I think we are saying the same thing. (OP said “protesting is virtually impossible.” I said that impossibility is a myth.)

Garbage saying that people are apathetic and lazy. Here in the Bay Area.

Sorry if I offended you. When I speak to our Bay Area representatives about privacy, Internet regulation and related commercial matters, I’m usually alone. Few are politically involved, in the Bay Area, on non-social topics.

Re: US Senate passes sweeping tax overhaul bill

#118

Post by anigbrowl »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #117
anigbrowl wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Garbage saying that people are apathetic and lazy. Here in the Bay Area.

Sorry if I offended you. When I speak to our Bay Area representatives about privacy, Internet regulation and related commercial matters, I’m usually alone. Few are politically involved, in the Bay Area, on non-social topics.

Thanks for the clarification. Considering the existence of the EFF and the lobbying ability of all the large tech firms, I'm not that surprised if grassroots lobbying is a bit thin on the ground on such topics. I know that people show up to lobby on privacy issues at city council meetings here in Oakland.

Re: US Senate passes sweeping tax overhaul bill

#119

Post by drallison »

RickJWag wrote: post #116

The pendulum swings back and forth. It's not the end of the earth, it's not going to bring utopia. Can we please use Hacker News for technical issues?

Hacker News should focus on important issues, which are not always technical. The Senates's tax overhaul is an important issue. The outrageous behavior of the Republican Senators to get the bill passes is an important issue.
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