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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

#611

Post by bix6 »

Hilift wrote: post #592
thayne wrote: 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…

The company does not pay payroll taxes. Individuals pay those taxes.

It’s split but the company pays more. Both pay SS and Medicare. Company also pays unemployment.

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

#612

Post by paulryanrogers »

b112 wrote: post #543
paulryanrogers wrote: post #436

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trump seems to care what people think today, every day. He doesn't seem like someone who puts a lot of thought into the future.

You know, I wonder if that's a sad but valuable trait for a politician. Public opinion can change daily, and external events can appear with no warning. These things can make a prior path of action vanish, or even make it madness to pursue. If you try to plan everything long term, I bet you hit a lot of disappoint as a politician. If you only see today, then you're not fighting for things that are now not possible. I…

Some problems require years or even decades to address. Consider how quickly a COVID vaccine was developed, yet it depended upon many years of quietly studying SARS and R&D around MRNA. Or consider trying to address developing or maintaining infrastructure.

A chaotic politican whose mind is changed by the last person they spoke with won't do well facing serious long term problems.

It gets worse if the only things they consistently stand for is their own power, personal wealth, their sycophants, and their grade-school-level (mis)understanding of complex matters.

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

#613

Post by sherburt3 »

Braxton1980 wrote: post #463
sherburt3 wrote: post #334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Presidencies last 4-8 years, congressional careers last decades.

Avg for house is 12.5 and 8.5 in senate

Mitch McConnell has been serving in the senate since 1985. He's been a senator longer than most Americans have been alive.

I think the outliers are far more consequential than the averages in this case.

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

#614

Post by sitkack »

patmcc wrote: post #486
sitkack wrote: post #62

Is there a flaw in saying, "salaries should always be considered a business expense and cannot be amortized over many years." ?

Yes, I think there are two similar but subtly different flaws in that always . 1) Accounting rules are to match revenue with the expenses responsible for them, which I think is a good principle. If your workers make something now that provides revenue for 5 years, it makes sense to spread that expense over 5 years too. In many cases, you would want to do that as a business, makes it more clear how your business is pr…

Thank you.

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

#615

Post by luckylion »

sampton wrote: post #133

Amortization is bad policy when it comes software. Software is inherently high risk. Every piece of software is unique and does not guarantee steady income over 5 years. Most startups won't survive 5 years to fully realize the deductions. This is the end of US software dominance.

Does a machine guarantee steady income during the period of its depreciation?

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

#616

Post by paulryanrogers »

Brybry wrote: post #542
Kamq wrote: post #461

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Equal in voting rights. Gerrymandering has been perfected by Republicans. Through that they manage to dilute votes of the opposition. This thread is talking about the Senate. The senate isn't gerrymandered. Both senators are state-wide races. If you want to view it that way, you can view the senate as "pre-gerrymandered". But the last time that was an option was in 1959, and both of those are just "the entire area…

Gerrymandering can affect voter sentiment and trigger polling location changes during redistricting, both of which can affect voter turnout[1][2][3] (though the research doesn't seem conclusive on the effect). And thinking about it more, though I haven't seen if there are studies on it: there are probably manpower/fundraising effects from gerrymandering. If you're able to protect your political power in one area that…

> On a percentage basis, over three times as many districts were competitive in states where independent commissions drew maps as in states where Republicans drew maps.

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-...

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

#617

Post by paulryanrogers »

jimbob45 wrote: post #447
paulryanrogers wrote: post #431

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Equal in voting rights. Gerrymandering has been perfected by Republicans. Through that they manage to dilute votes of the opposition. Other measures discourage voters likely to vote against them, like people who cannot easily take time off to vote in person or who have changed their name. Blocking rank choice and maintaining first past the post also disenfranchise third parties, and reinforces the power of incumbents…

?? Both sides happily gerrymander. It’s been around since 1812 and both sides are equally guilty at this point.

I didn't say democrats were innocent. I said Republicans perfected the (ab)use of districting.

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-...

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

#618

Post by anticensor »

bunnie wrote: post #566
djfivyvusn wrote: post #557

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just pledge copyright of contributions to eff or something.

Work-for-hire open source contributions often already bear a copyright holder of the entity paying for the work. The problem isn't who is the copyright holder. The problem is that the license assigned says that anyone is free to use the code. Anyone is a set of people that includes the contributor, which then triggers the interpretation that the research is incrementally in the contributor's benefit and thus disquali…

> a source control system that hides the source files from the contributor's view of the repository.

How would that work?

> You'd need a custom license where everyone in the world could use the results except for the contributor

That one is incompatible with copyright laws in many countries outside USA.

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

#619

Post by jere »

testrun wrote: post #606

It seems that there is quite a bit of confusion about this. What this does is that it reduce your deductible cost in the tax year. First you have to make a profit (tax is on profits). Secondly, what this does is to limit your software development expenses for tax purposes in the current year because the development cost is seen as a capital cost that will be amortized over five years opposed to operating expenditure…

I can see why it would affect startups not making a profit but why would it dramatically affect FAANG (e.g. some of the most profitable companies in the world that have been running for decades)? The article contributes all these large layoffs in FAANG, in part, to this tax rule.

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

#620

Post by FrustratedMonky »

jbverschoor wrote: post #523
mountainriver wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is one of the worst things MAGA has done. Tech startups are the source of so much of our wealth, and this makes it very challenging to ever build one. I can’t believe this still exists, and no one has changed it. We truly are governed by morons

It is being roled back partly https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44028106

too little too late?

as we are seeing now on a number of issues, sure things can be rolled back, but that doesn't mean a return to normal.

Yes, you can kick over a bee hive, then pick it up and set it back upright, but you are not going to put all the bees back in immediately. There are long term consequences.

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