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The time bomb in the tax code that's fueling mass tech layoffs

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Re: The time bomb in the tax code that's fueling mass tech layoffs

#391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dunno, I pay taxes on revenue.

Are you a company? If not, then you probably don't have revenue -- you have income.

In the US, unless you are a C Corp then you probably also pay taxes on net income of some form. C Corps have some different accounting, where dividends are double taxed unfortunately.

Small business owners are very impacted by the R&D schedule.

Re: The time bomb in the tax code that's fueling mass tech layoffs

#392
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The company already pays payroll taxes on those salaries, and the employees pay income taxes. And the people hurt by this aren't the shareholders or top executives, it's the rank and file workers getting laid off, losing benefits, and being asked to work more for the same pay. What this change effectively did was make software developers significantly more expensive, without increasing the amount those developers get…

Don’t forget the other stakeholder - the general public. Yes it sucks for developers, but does it make any difference for any other employee? Why does Joe’s plumbing have to pay those taxes, but Jane’s AdTech company doesn’t? Sure, there are benefits to investing in R&D in general, and tech has fueled a lot of growth, so incentivizing it has likely paid off for the whole economy. But will that forever be true? Maybe?

Joe's plumbing doesn't have to pay those taxes. Operational costs, including paying employees for normal operations, is deductable.

But with the change, the cost of R&D employees is now only partially deductible (right now, you can eventually deduct the full amount over the course of several years), and software development has to be considered R&D.

Re: The time bomb in the tax code that's fueling mass tech layoffs

#393
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The destructive power of the Section 174 change cannot be overstated. It has been reported on a lot, but its harms are generally poorly articulated. I do not like many things in BBB, but I am glad to know there is at least something in there that I can be glad for.

Why sent tech companies and tech workers kick up a fuss when this bill passed in 2017. I remember being mad about it

Yeah I think we did kick up a fuss?

The better question is why the tech industry seemed to forget that the first Trump administration was terrible...

Re: The time bomb in the tax code that's fueling mass tech layoffs

#394
post #305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As a progressive, it seems like the Democrats always have Senate spoilers... With Republicans usually being dominant in a number of states, if Democrats have a Senate majority, it is usually both narrow and dependent on a very small number of Democratic and/or Dem-leading moderate independent Senators from Republican-majority states who vote with the party on leadership, but are soft (or firmly opposed to the progr…

Hell, just first past the post would eviscerate the current parties.

Argh. Too late to edit. Something else outside first past the post* like ranked choice voting.

Re: The time bomb in the tax code that's fueling mass tech layoffs

#396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's the cosponsors of the bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1/co... I think the purpose of the change was to "increase revenue": > Requiring that certain research or experimental expenditures be amortized over a five-year period or longer, starting in 2023, would increase revenues by $109 billion over the period from 2023 to 2027. https://www.congress.gov/congressional-report/115th-cong…

They want to call it anything other than a tax. It's a specific tax, on a particular class of better educated workers in specific jobs.

That typically don’t vote for that party and are unsympathetic.

Re: The time bomb in the tax code that's fueling mass tech layoffs

#397
post #377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the rub. Is it an operational expense, like rent or a capital expense, like buying machinery? It is sort of between the two in my view and is highly dependant on what the software engineer does each day. Are they fixing a bug, helping a customer, refactoring? I think that is operational. Are they building out a new feature? That is capital. But it is not quite like buying equipment because it adds no value to…

The answer is that it's an operational experience when it's a salaried employee and a capital expense when it's a contractor. Like not in a theoretical sense, this is how it's classified right now.

Source?

Consider a contractor in a software maintainer role; accounting for this as capex makes zero sense.

Re: The time bomb in the tax code that's fueling mass tech layoffs

#398
> For almost 70 years, American companies could deduct 100% of qualified research and development spending in the year they incurred the costs

This is an artificial subsidy. That’s not how the tax code treats other types of investments that generate recurring income.

Re: The time bomb in the tax code that's fueling mass tech layoffs

#399
post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What i like about US is that compare to other countries (like for example Russia where i'm originally from) there is almost no lying and cheating here. Instead there is a respect of the law and an army of talented creative accountants and lawyers. Remember that stale "multi-used" sandwich served with the drink which by virtue of its existence converted drinking establishment into a food serving restaurant? Not being…

> What i like about US is that compare to other countries (like for example Russia where i'm originally from) there is almost no lying and cheating here. Instead there is a respect of the law and an army of talented creative accountants and lawyers I thought you were being sarcastic here at first because, good lord, there is plenty of corruption here in the US (though those doing it used to care more about hiding it)…

You have no idea about corruption if you haven't lived it in a BRIC country.

The funny thing, is that people not from America say that there IS corruption, but at least it happens in the open. I think OP is saying the same.

Re: The time bomb in the tax code that's fueling mass tech layoffs

#400
post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What i like about US is that compare to other countries (like for example Russia where i'm originally from) there is almost no lying and cheating here. Instead there is a respect of the law and an army of talented creative accountants and lawyers. Remember that stale "multi-used" sandwich served with the drink which by virtue of its existence converted drinking establishment into a food serving restaurant? Not being…

I'm not sure I buy into this. Sure, compared with Russia it's probably a lot less, at least in terms of being something everyday people engage in. But in terms of comparing with countries like Germany or Sweden I don't know. Here's some food for thought: * Global financial crises: Banks were paying (bribing) ratings agencies to rate junk bonds AAA. * Savings & loan crisis: widespread fraud & insider abuse. * Bernie M…

If the list doesn't go on and on that is a clear sign that corruption is being hid.
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