Re: We are all Slave now.
 

You will likely see an increase in taxes if you are a blue state high income wage earner, especially if you have a lot of deductions. You will also likely see an increase regardless of state if you have a modest income or lower income and are in a single parent household or have greater than average deductions (e.g., people with health care issues, large families, etc.).

If you get more income from capital gains or own your own non-services business you will likely benefit a reasonable amount.

If you are a corporation other than a services corp you likely will benefit a lot.

If you are a billionaire, you will likely benefit the most (not some schmuck like Hank whose in the top .1% but real money, the top .001%).

This tax bill was for corporate america and people who are uber-rich. Others pay for it or come out even.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

Wait, Mi has always been blue, but because of folks who decided to go third party we are red! So because of Detroit-Sebby I get a tax cut?

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

I have a non-service business (I think...). So I thought, great, I get a 20% deduction on that income.

But if you look closer at the rule defining service businesses, even if what you're doing is outside the specific categories barred from the deduction, there's a catch-all: "any trade or business" based on the "reputation or skill" of the owner or employees is also excluded. That's basically every business except the sale of goods. Then you have the income threshold, which once passed requires you to undertake the most insane calculations of W-2 wages and real estate investment. Then the whole thing gets phased out at 415,000.

In sum, whatever gain I could conceivably pull from this is all but assuredly going to be wiped out by the Rube Goldberg rule scheme applied post-threshold.

This bill is a shitshow.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

I don't know if you get a tax cut. I honestly couldn't venture a guess. You certainly won't get one on income derived from legal work, but if you dabble in real estate or have non-service related businesses, with the right mix of r/e investment and/or W-2d employees, maybe you get something?

I'm guessing whatever you might get on your best day would be just enough to pay your accountant for the annoyance of working through the calculations. And then you'd have to consider whether there's audit risk, as you know there'll be thousands of shmucks out there characterizing legal work as something else, drawing the eyes of agents to all returns claiming a mix of service and non-service income.

This bill appears to have been written with two aims:

1. Give corporations a general cut to make them competitive globally (a defensible aim, even if most don'y pay much tax anyway);
2. Under cover of that laudable goal, give people in r/e, like Trump, a windfall.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

Except perhaps abortion, all of these things are very different, because there are good-faith arguments to be made in favor of both ends of the policy side. We are not talking about "addressing racism," as if it's something that just exists out there in the world independent of what the government does. The government either does or does not subject blacks to searches and arrests at higher rates. It does or does not categorically discriminate against Muslims trying to enter the country. It does or does not send immigration agents to schools to detain and deport parents dropping off their kids. The Republican Party is running on these things. It's not just a question of devoting resources to undoing the effects of slavery in the nineteenth century.

Not every Republican is a racist, obviously. But those who have good intentions are casting their lot with a lot of people who doing racists things, and playing to racist voters. I absolutely believe that there are Republicans who are better and worse on these issues, but I don't see many will to take a real stand on their principles. The reason for that is depressing: Most conservative voters will punish them for it, because they like the racism.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

Sebby is talking about voters, and you are talking about politicians, at least in this paragraph. You guys are about 50 posts in now, at least give us the courtesy of focusing,

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

What do you call someone who votes for a bigot because he hopes to pay less in taxes?

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

I am talking about both. I think it's telling that most of the Never Trump people are pundits and others who offer political views for a living.

Actual lawyer question
 

Anyone with experience in having someone declared incompetent? My FIL is 94. We took his car keys away, telling him once he passes a driving ability test (we are told he won't) he can have them back. He lives in another state so we can't watch his every move. The wily old dog had a locksmith come and make a new one. I'm trying to talk to the assisted living village staff about it. They told my wife they can have a doctor sign a letter saying he is mentally incompetent to handle finances, then she can get control and sell the car.

That sounds harsh and complicated and pushing way to much on her. He still buys his groceries, as an example. But doesn't one have to go to a court of some kind to have em declared unfit? This is in Pa.

Re: Actual lawyer question
 

Cheaper to pay a kid to keep deflating his tires.

Re: Actual lawyer question
 

I don't want to do this*, and am hoping it is a legal procedure that will take some doing.


*this being the declaration, the air thing seems a good fall back, although he might drive over the flat tire issue.

Re: Actual lawyer question
 

We went through this with my grandparents, using persuasion instead of legal proceedings, and it was hard for everyone involved except the local body shops. At the risk of stating the obvious, you really don't want him to kill someone, and neither should he, but giving up his independence is lousy. If he lives someone with Uber/Lyft, you can buy the car from him in exchange for an open Uber/Lyft account.

Re: Actual lawyer question
 

does he need a smart phone for that? and yes on the independence, I mean we took the keys away already. but having him declared unfit seems a big step up in insult. Mainly I want to confirm a proceeding is required, not just some letter (and i have confirmed it, on my own).

Re: Actual lawyer question
 

Pretty sure he needs a smartphone for that, but maybe there are other options -- e.g., an account with a local taxi service that someone else pays for.

Even if you get him declared incompetent, you still have to enforce that, and a guy who will call his own locksmith is competent enough to have some tricks up his sleeve, I'm thinking.

Re: Actual lawyer question
 

When can a driver be re-evaluated?
New York State Vehicle & Traffic Law Section 506 (1) states that: "If the Commissioner has "reasonable grounds" to believe that a person holding a license is not qualified to drive a motor vehicle, the Commissioner may require such person submit to an examination to determine their qualifications."


What are "reasonable grounds"?
"Reasonable grounds" means that the DMV must have a "specific reason" related to driving performance why a driver needs to be contacted for a driving re-evaluation. A "specific reason" is a driving incident, behavior, action or other cause reported to the DMV by a physician, a police officer, or someone who knows or has observed the driver.


How is a re-evaluation request sent to DMV?
DMV receives reports that a driver may have a medical condition that affects his or her ability to operate a motor vehicle safely from

Police Agency Request for Driver Review (DS-5)
Physician's Request for Driver Review (pdf) (DS-6)
concerned individuals, Request for Driver Review (pdf) (DS-7)
If an individual submits a Request for Driver Review form, it must include their name and signature.

Forced license re-evaluation? Not as severe as having him declared incompetent, but can take away his license for sure. I'm sure PA has something similar.

https://dmv.ny.gov/driver-license/dm...-re-evaluation

TM