My first year of marriage, my taxes were so bad simply because I got married that Microbug and I ended up on the front page of the local rag.
This year, they’re worse: $2500 is what we owe, just 'cause we got married. I mean it- we figured out our taxes based on being married and then again as single- and the difference is $2500.
I thought the administration wanted more family values?
Here’s a fucking clue, oh Federal Government and the Bush Administration: If you want “family values”, and more married families, at the very LEAST make it in our economic best interest to stay married!
Divorce looks better and better, every April 15th. Hell, I’m still paying off last year’s taxes! :rolleyes:
/end of lame rant. Sorry it wasn’t better, I’m still a little baffled by the dichotomy.
Yeah, but they did send you that nifty $500 rebate check, right? See, they really are on your side.
(Oh wait, that check gets deducted from my refund? Oh, sorry. Never mind.)
Seriously though,
This is another reason why I don’t understand the administration being against gay marraige. Look at all the money you are missing out on.
[list=1]
[li]Despite all the foo-fah over Bush’s tax cut and tax reform, it does not eliminate the marriage penalty. It will just reduce it somewhat. (And there’s a good chance the marriage penalty may will be taken away before it’s fully in place.)[/li][li]There’s a huge fuss over ending the marriage penalty, but nobody warned us when it was being implemented. I remember a time when filing jointly was neutral or an advantage. (Still the case for NJ state tax.) Does anyone even know when the marriage penalty was put into the federal income tax?[/li][/list=1]
Yeah, but you a $600 TAX CREDIT for every little ankle-biter you have. So ideally you should have 10 kids and no spouse. How’s that for family values. :rolleyes:
Some lesbian friends of mine were bemoaning the fact that they couldn’t get married, legally. My question was, “Why the hell would you WANT to?” The only benefit they could really think of that couldn’t be done in some other manner was job benefits- and we worked for a company that allowed partners/roommates to be designated as beneficiaries.
Microbug and I can’t even get a divorce and go back to living in sin- the IRS would still insist that we’re still married, and must file as such.
Maybe when I get home I’ll dig out and post the irritating letter Phil Gramm sent us, saying basically, “That’s just the way it is, deal. Vote for me.” :rolleyes:
As a single person, mind you, I can see the value of a marriage penalty. Two people sharing a living space and property will have more available cash than a single person doing the same, and, ideally, it’s better to take disposable income than grocery money.
Fair? Perhaps no. But I didn’t get no refund check, neither.
Man your tax laws are weird.
In Oz, you pay tax on your income and your income alone.
Has nothing to do with the missus and whether you’re married or not.
Come to a better tax system, come and live Down Under.
From what I understand, the idea was to allow a couple to file as one person to save some money. At the time the idea was implemented, most couples had one member that made the vast majority of the income (the guy) and one that made a few extra bucks (the girl). Since then, more couples have had two real wage earners, causing this to become a penalty, rather than a benefit.
Married people can file separately, but the rates are higher than for a single person.
My second husband and I paid extra taxes (over his filing as single and my filing as head of household) to the tune of $1000 to $2200. (Yes, I was sick enough to figure the taxes both ways… )
When my third husband asked me to marry him, I figured the difference between the marriage penalty and the cost of health insurance, before saying “yes”. (We were already living together, and he had no health insurance, which drove me nuts because he was self-employed and did dangerous work.) Wouldn’t you know it… three months later, the corporation I work for decided to cover “domestic partners”.
We decided to get divorced Nov. 30, and I considered going to Mexico in order to finalize the divorce before the end of the year. We didn’t do that, because it required both parties, and we were afraid that we’d not survive a two-day-drive together :eek:
So, filed our paperword a week later and was shocked to get the decree in the mailbox two days later! Whoo-hoo! (No children in common, no property in common, no disputes, signed by both of us…) Saved me thousands.
You know, Caught@Work? I wouldn’t mind moving to Australia. Oz seems like a nice enough place- the people are friendly, you’ve all got That Accent, and the terrain seems remarkably varied. It’s kinda like one big Texas.
Except…
Every frickin’ animal’s out to kill you people! I mean, my God, man- everything seems to be poisonous! Hell, even one of your (psuedo) mammals has poisonous spurs on its elbows!
Don’t get me wrong- I’m a bit of a nature freak. I go kayaking. I go mountain climbing. I like to camp with only the clothes on my back.
But the idea of walking around Australia just terrifies me! I’d be a walking cloud of Raid, just kill the damn spiders!
Ain’t that the truth!
13 years, 6.5 years, then less than 3 years – I’m going downhill here… by the time I’m seventy, I suppose I’ll be down to two-day marriages…
