Tax thoughts

[WmGo]

... in response to Amen To Flat Tax...And None on Crops ..., posted by RickM on Apr 16, 2002

Russia implemented a flat 13% income tax rate last year. We would be wise to do the same...but maybe keep it at 12% because 13 is an unlucky number...

[europete]

... in response to Re: Flat Tax..Russia has it, posted by WmGo on Apr 16, 2002

When Ronald Reagan was President, he had an economist named Milton Friedman (author of "Free to Choose")conduct a study on a better tax system for the U.S.A.
Mr. Friedman concluded that the best system would be a 13% flat tax, no deductions for anything(as I recall).
His proposal was appreciated but ignored.

[WmGo]

... in response to Re: Re: Flat Tax..Russia has it, posted by europete on Apr 16, 2002

Yeah, Friedman was a free market and monetarist economic thinker - a genius no doubt. Unfortunately, government rarely follows sound economic theory. I personally subscribe to the Austrian School of economic theory (Mises, Hayek, Hazlitt, Rothbard, etc.)

[BrianN]

... in response to Tax thoughts, posted by zebrazeb on Apr 15, 2002

I could write a book on this subject, as both of my parents were auditors for the usg, and retired.  I used to marvel at the size of the irs tax code books we had when I was a kid, and how small the print was.

Without getting ridiculously stupid about this subject, regarding the sale of a marital asset in a place such as the fsu, you should know, that there has to be a "tax basis"... in otherwords, I don't think any of that would apply anyway, since the only thing the irs can tax, is gains on principal, or straight (or incidental) income over and above what you've got in your pocket right now.

So, if the wifey enters into the marriage with a flat valued at 20K when she bought it, then that would be the tax basis, or would it?  

I suppose she could marry a rich american guy with a LOT of tax burden, then have a crooked fsu appraiser, provide a (hint hint) certified value of $1,000,000 US (when she acquired it), then sell it for $20,000, and take 980K loss on it after she's married and sold the thing; filing jointly that is...

Oh boy the pigs that could actually fly with this one!

Considering how $40,000 checks have actually been issued in the recent IRS scandal regarding slave reparations refunds, I think, that pigs really do fly.

[Rags]

... in response to Tax thoughts, posted by zebrazeb on Apr 15, 2002

I recently ran across a thread on another board where many guys thought that they would recover many of their expenses spent in their searches for a FSU bride after they got married because their fiancees were very thrifty, they would not be blowing big bucks dating AW, they would not be eating out as much, tax breaks, etc., etc. LOL!!! Obviously they had never been married before.

I wanted to point out the obvious added expenses in utilities, cost of additional transportation/fuel/upkeep, clothing, medical/dental/vision insurance, cost of fresh produce vs junk food, INS fees, vacations in the FSU, communications with family and friends half way around the world, etc. but I did not want to burst their bubbles.

Maybe they intended to keep their new brides chained in the cellar, barefoot (not pregnant , and never take them anywhere. Not the best way to stay married IMO.

The bottom line is that you marry for love (share and share alike) until death do us part. Any other ideas can only lead to heartache, trouble, and a divorce.

You can calculate up your cost vs benefits until your head spins but in the end it's as they say in the comercials: A happy marriage..."PRICELESS!"

[wsbill]

... in response to Two can live as cheaply as one..., posted by Rags on Apr 16, 2002

Like me $558 back, glass biz is in the toilet... Time to go find a real job.

What ever happend to that guy in Bahrain in the Navy ?