SIRI Monthly Thread October 2015 (with NFL Chat)

[midas360]

Another Cool Shot of the Banana Spider

IMG_8774.jpg

[user34615145]

You are not being taxed on your income twice if you invest it. You only get taxed on the new money you didn't have before you invested. And that rate on any new money is only 15% if you have invested for a year. Under a year is your progressive bracket.
As for the boat, you aren't taxed twice either, you pay the percentage of the product you buy. Or you can buy it in Delaware.

For those of you that are interested in economics/fiscal policy and what extreme tax cuts unleash, do a little research on Brownback's experiment in Kansas. Then go see what Brown did in Cali. I don't care what party you are for, numbers don't lie.

I would love to see a flat tax but that will never happen for several reasons, most of which are the special interests that love the deductions and the Accounting industry.

With all due respect beehaus, I beg to differ. I pay a team of CPA's to know the difference and they tell me I'm paying actually MORE than 20%. I understand that maybe your L.T. Cap Gains is taxed at 15%...in fact, a lot of folks are even taxed at 0%, but because I had the unmitigated gall to work my a$$ off and earn a decent buck, my L.T. Cap Gains Rate in my brokerage portfolio is 20%....actually, thanks to Obama Care, it's now 23.8%. In a nutshell, here's how it works: Individuals in the 10% and 15% federal income tax brackets can pay 0% on some or all of their LT Gains. Individuals in the 25% federal income tax bracket or higher pay 15% LTG. However, if your taxable income is above $406,750 for singles or $457,600 for married filing jointly (that's me), you are paying 20%...Plus the 3.8% Obama Care kicker. Finally if, like me, you have real estate investments you can actually be taxed at 25% on L.T. Gains plus the 3.8% ObamaCare kicker for a nice little 28.5% L.T. Gains poke in the a$$ by Uncle Sam.

And Beehaus, you can play with the numbers and play with semantics all you want, but in my book if you are taxed when you earn money and then taxed again when you spend that very same money, that's "double taxation" by definition.

I do agree with your assessment of the special interests never letting a flat tax happen. Too many people (my CPA's included) make a lot of money clarifying and calculating tax code because it's a huge convoluted clusterflock. But that's congress for you...

My wife suggested a while back that any bill that goes before congress should be limited to 1 page double spaced. That way no one would be able to slip in pork barrel stuff and it would have to be clear and concise. If it's more complicated than one page double spaced, then get out another piece of paper and create another bill for the portion that deals with that complication. Smart woman. That's why I married her. Well that....and a few other reasons too

[siriusly_invested]

Another Cool Shot of the Banana Spider

IMG_8774.jpg

Your spider shots have reminded me that I have a 105mm, f/1.8 prime lens I've never used. I think I will give it a try soon to discover some of those Macro shot opportunities. Thanks for the nudge.

[SN38]

Hi SLY....maybe we have a chance if Weeden can through the ball a bit further down the field to a CowBoy rather than the defense.

Your strategy seems to have been well thought out. Of course we could see anything on Monday..Big up or down but it does look like we could be headed a bit higher with the help of the Macro.

Still long core myself and trading frequently. Will continue to do the same at least through year end into Q1 2016 then I may trim back a bit.

Good luck on the trades SLY

Good luck with Weeden Denco. He couldn't cut it here in Cleve. who has been desperate for anyone that resembles a quarterback. Big arm but didn't seem to have the head for the job. At least he has a better team around him.

[beehaus]

With all due respect beehaus, I beg to differ. I pay a team of CPA's to know the difference and they tell me I'm paying actually MORE than 20%. I understand that maybe your L.T. Cap Gains is taxed at 15%...in fact, a lot of folks are even taxed at 0%, but because I had the unmitigated gall to work my a$$ off and earn a decent buck, my L.T. Cap Gains Rate in my brokerage portfolio is 20%....actually, thanks to Obama Care, it's now 23.8%. In a nutshell, here's how it works: Individuals in the 10% and 15% federal income tax brackets can pay 0% on some or all of their LT Gains. Individuals in the 25% federal income tax bracket or higher pay 15% LTG. However, if your taxable income is above $406,750 for singles or $457,600 for married filing jointly (that's me), you are paying 20%...Plus the 3.8% Obama Care kicker. Finally if, like me, you have real estate investments you can actually be taxed at 25% on L.T. Gains plus the 3.8% ObamaCare kicker for a nice little 28.5% L.T. Gains poke in the a$$ by Uncle Sam.

And Beehaus, you can play with the numbers and play with semantics all you want, but in my book if you are taxed when you earn money and then taxed again when you spend that very same money, that's "double taxation" by definition.

I do agree with your assessment of the special interests never letting a flat tax happen. Too many people (my CPA's included) make a lot of money clarifying and calculating tax code because it's a huge convoluted clusterflock. But that's congress for you...

My wife suggested a while back that any bill that goes before congress should be limited to 1 page double spaced. That way no one would be able to slip in pork barrel stuff and it would have to be clear and concise. If it's more complicated than one page double spaced, then get out another piece of paper and create another bill for the portion that deals with that complication. Smart woman. That's why I married her. Well that....and a few other reasons too

Thanks for working hard and congrats on having the "problem" of paying more taxes. You do realize you are in the top 1% of earners. That is awesome.

My point was that you are not paying twice on your income, just on your cap gains. Be happy that your LT capital gains are less than your progressive rate or you would be paying 39.5% or more.

I'll stay out of the politics. We all get 1 vote.

I hope SIRI puts me in the top 1% next year when it hits 6.00!

[midas360]

I think you both are correct but talking about different things. It's actually a very good topic of discussion. I was in a position for many years of collecting all my "income" via long term capital gains and qualified dividends paying 0% tax rate. It was a great experience for me and my family too.

Thanks for working hard and congrats on having the "problem" of paying more taxes. You do realize you are in the top 1% of earners. That is awesome.

My point was that you are not paying twice on your income, just on your cap gains. Be happy that your LT capital gains are less than your progressive rate or you would be paying 39.5% or more.

I'll stay out of the politics. We all get 1 vote.

I hope SIRI puts me in the top 1% next year when it hits 6.00!

[midas360]

Thanks for mentioning your lens. I am going to look it up. I like the zoom lens but it looks funny when I am backing trying to get a close up shot.

Your spider shots have reminded me that I have a 105mm, f/1.8 prime lens I've never used. I think I will give it a try soon to discover some of those Macro shot opportunities. Thanks for the nudge.

[dm_4]

Good luck with Weeden Denco. He couldn't cut it here in Cleve. who has been desperate for anyone that resembles a quarterback. Big arm but didn't seem to have the head for the job. At least he has a better team around him.

well they have cassel now too....lets not over look that. If weeden can't cut it....they know they have an experienced guy to take over. Think is was back in 2008 when TB12 went down 1st game of the season, Cassel came in and went 10 and 5 for us. Dallas aint out of this thing yet...not by a long shot.

[user34615145]

Thanks for working hard and congrats on having the "problem" of paying more taxes. You do realize you are in the top 1% of earners. That is awesome.

My point was that you are not paying twice on your income, just on your cap gains. Be happy that your LT capital gains are less than your progressive rate or you would be paying 39.5% or more.

I'll stay out of the politics. We all get 1 vote.

I hope SIRI puts me in the top 1% next year when it hits 6.00!

Yep beehaus. I've seen those stats. Top 1% means nothing to me except that I guess it makes me sad to know that so many of the rest of the 99% could do so much better. It's hard work but, frankly if I can do it, pretty much anyone can. I'm certainly not any smarter than the vast majority of those 99% and I certainly wasn't given any special advantage. I'm a college educated man, but I put myself through school and it took 8 years of night's and weekends to get that first 4 year degree. Mostly that degree taught me that you don't need a degree.
I work hard, I try to work smart and I value my family above everything. It pisses me off to have to take my hard earned money - money I earned working and spending time away from my family, so that others, who have access to the same resources I have, are given that money with no expectation that they try to improve themselves or their lot in life to the point where they no longer require assistance. Like I said in previous posts, I have no problem providing a safety net. I believe we have a social and moral obligation to do so, but I think we also have a social and moral obligation to hold folks accountable and expect more effort on the part of those folks to improve their circumstances and that's where we fall short. It's not about throwing money at the situation, it's about people, and values and a "social contract" where society expects people to do their part to help themselves instead of counting on the government (taxes) for every little thing. Taxing the "rich" to perpetuate the vicious cycle of gov't assistance from one generation to the next is not the answer. That's the "problem" I have. S'all I'm sayin'

Finally...the "one vote" thing is an issue too. Someone with 4x the tax rate, after adjustments, than someone else, should have 4x the voice (vote) on how it's allocated (spent). Think about it.. If I'm someone who's effective tax rate is zero, why wouldn't I vote for every tax spending bill there is? What do I care? It doesn't cost me anything and probably gets me more benefits. A classic "money for nothing" equation. Midas, while I think it's very smart of you (genius actually) to figure out how to get keep your earned income low enough so that your investment income isn't taxed, I also think that if you were paying 0%, you should not have had a vote during that time. Flat tax would solve that problem too.

[siriusly_invested]

Thanks for mentioning your lens. I am going to look it up. I like the zoom lens but it looks funny when I am backing trying to get a close up shot.

Slight correction: I see a typo when I described my Macro lens. It is a f/2.8.... not f/1.8 as described in this link at eBay where I bought mine. I'm guessing you can find a similar lens for Canon.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nikon-AF-105...item2ca27ded6c

PS. I just took a peek at KEH.com where I have purchased many products. They are primarily in the used product business, but with a very good quality control and company reputation.
Here is a lens for Canon which appears to be like the 105mm Macro lens I got. (I don't understand the Canon-specific specs, so be sure you know what you are looking at).
https://www.keh.com/284594/sigma-105...on-ef-mount-58