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Brew 102 by Bill Roberts The Baby Boomer Retirement Planner

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Services for Real Estate Pros with Brooks and Dunphy Real Estate DRE 00527512

Brew 102
When I was a kid growing up in Los Angeles County back in the 1950s

there was a popular beer called Brew102. According to their

advertising they tried 101 brews until they finally got it right. Brew

102. BTW, I never had any. I don't drink beer.
This year the personal income tax is 102 years old. It was enacted by

Constitutional Amendment in 1913, one hundred and two years ago.
And they still don't have it right. They had to do it by Constitutional Amendment because the Supreme court had already ruled that a personal income tax was illegal. Those were the days my friends.
Several of the Republican presidential contenders have proposed

changes to our tax system. They range from complete abolishment to

a more temperate flat tax.
I'm not sure where I fall on this question, but one thing is for sure,

something's gotta give.
As usual, I put off doing my taxes until the last possible moment, but

now I'm done. All signed, sealed, and delivered (thanks to efile).
I don't know how many pages my return is because I didn't print it out.

But with the schedules it had to be a lot. Think about that. A lot of

pages TIMES millions of taxpayers. Who is going to read all those

pages? Probably no one.
If that seems like a waste of time and money, join the club.
I think everybody agrees that we need to change the system. The

disagreement is what kind of change.
I'm really looking forward to the next presidential election campaign. I

think that the "Discussion" about out tax system is going to be very

interesting.
As for a real change, I'm not holding my breath.

Posted by

Please comment. All comments are greatly appreciated.

Bill Roberts

 

View William (Bill) Roberts's profile on LinkedIn

Nina Hollander, Broker
Coldwell Banker Realty - Charlotte, NC
Your Greater Charlotte Realtor

Bill Roberts ~ I'm all for a flat tax. Will happily pay 15% of my income in taxes. But we also need a system where 50% of the population doesn't get away with paying no federal taxes.

Apr 16, 2015 03:34 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Bill- I'm not sure where I stand other than there are a lot of things that need fixing in DC.  

Apr 16, 2015 04:09 AM
Anna "Banana" Kruchten
HomeSmart Real Estate - Phoenix, AZ
602-380-4886

Bill I think you've started a couple of conversations here. The tax info is interesting - I didn't know that. I do know that between our business and personal taxes it's a whole book and that's a lot of pages.  As for the political discussions, which have started already for the 2016 elections - I'm not a big fan. Do we need big changes? Yes. Will they happen quickly?  Doubtful.

Apr 16, 2015 06:30 AM
George Souto
George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages - Middletown, CT
Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert

Bill I am with you on a need for a change in the present tax system.  Also I hope you are right and no one reads all those tax returns.  But if you are wrong and they read yours, it is usually followed by an unpleasant experience even if everything is accurate and true.

Apr 16, 2015 07:52 AM
Bill Roberts
Brooks and Dunphy Real Estate - Oceanside, CA
"Baby Boomer" Retirement Planner

Nina, I'm with you on that no one should get away with paying no taxes.

As for the 15%, I'm not so sure. Did you know that when they passed this law (in 1913) they wanted to limit the tax to 10% but decided against the limitation because they felt that the people would reject the tax if they thought everybody would have to pay 10%.

In the beginning the top tax was 7%, but you had to be a millionaire to pay that amount. Just sayin'.

Bill Roberts

 

 

 

5

Apr 16, 2015 11:27 PM
Bill Roberts
Brooks and Dunphy Real Estate - Oceanside, CA
"Baby Boomer" Retirement Planner

Kathy, How about starting over?

Bill Roberts

Apr 16, 2015 11:28 PM
Bill Roberts
Brooks and Dunphy Real Estate - Oceanside, CA
"Baby Boomer" Retirement Planner

Hi Anna, That was my intention. Glad to have you contribute to the conversation. Thank you.

Bill Roberts

Apr 16, 2015 11:30 PM
Bill Roberts
Brooks and Dunphy Real Estate - Oceanside, CA
"Baby Boomer" Retirement Planner

Yes George, I agree. I used TurboTax and refused the option for Audit Assistance. I hope they don't get around to mine.

Bill Roberts

Apr 16, 2015 11:32 PM
Joe Petrowsky
Mortgage Consultant, Right Trac Financial Group, Inc. NMLS # 2709 - Manchester, CT
Your Mortgage Consultant for Life

Good morning Bill. Our current tax system can't suck enough. The sooner we get to a flat tax the better.

Apr 17, 2015 01:24 AM
Bill Roberts
Brooks and Dunphy Real Estate - Oceanside, CA
"Baby Boomer" Retirement Planner

Hi Joe, Yes, a flat tax is probably my choice also.

Bill Roberts

Apr 17, 2015 02:19 AM
Lou Ludwig
Ludwig & Associates - Boca Raton, FL
Designations Earned CRB, CRS, CIPS, GRI, SRES, TRC

Bill

The IRS is broken and has been for a long time . . . . There needs to be a complete overhaul of the IRS.

Good luck and success.

Lou Ludwig

Apr 17, 2015 12:39 PM
Bob Crane
Woodland Management Service / Woodland Real Estate, KW Diversified - Stevens Point, WI
Forestland Experts! 715-204-9671

I am not holding my breath either Bill.

But somebody has to pay the bills and since I make too much to not pay and not enough to hire the people to get me out of paying my fair share, I will be one of the people who pays a lot.

 

Apr 17, 2015 03:05 PM
Bill Roberts
Brooks and Dunphy Real Estate - Oceanside, CA
"Baby Boomer" Retirement Planner

Hi Lou, Yes, it is broken. It is unfair. It is used to change behavior, not just collect taxes.

Bill Roberts

Apr 18, 2015 12:20 AM
Bill Roberts
Brooks and Dunphy Real Estate - Oceanside, CA
"Baby Boomer" Retirement Planner

Bob, It seems that the whole middle-class is in the same boat. Pray for change.

Bill Roberts

Apr 18, 2015 12:22 AM