That’s something I hadn’t considered. I’ll look at that possibility when I do my 2018 state return.


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I go to a lot of places with very high per diem rates...not a regional...

 

Even if you went to places with $150/day m+e numbers, you’d have to do like 200+ overnights a year

 

Welcome to long haul freight... I flew that for years. Every year I laid over about 16 night a month, which is 192... add in some training or an extra trip. Not very hard to reach 200.

 

We have not run our final numbers yet, but in 2015 taxes on our earnings from short term gains in real estate were 51% (Fed, ACA on investments & State of GA) This year it is looking like 27%. We are paying half as much in taxes as we used to.

I have no idea if that is sustainable for our nation.

The problem (and is this political if I'm complaining about both sides of the partisan divide?) is the unfairness of the system.

During the Presidential debates Trump made the statement that if a guy was in real estate and was paying any taxes he "is dumb." Trump mostly (completely) avoids taxes by setting everything up in myriad accounts which cover his personal expenses as business expenses and receiving very little money personally. Most of us cannot set up shell companies that will fly us around in 757's, but, a self directed IRA is a decent way to isolate investment income and at least defer taxes on it. Hey, if your investments do well enough, your holding company needs a 757, right :-)

So far, Paul Ryan's tax plan (not really Trump's) seems more fair.

 

Sorry. To clarify: rates will go up each year from where they are now.

They did initially go down to offset the elimination of some major deductions.

 

Most of all the deductions everyone is claiming previous years were counting anyways with hitting alternative taxes. I ran sample returns this year and not only didn’t I owe as past years, it showed a return

 

It isn't, entitlements go broke in 2025, sooner, if there is a recession.



I'm seeing the same thing you are, my business got a 40% tax cut, but my income tax cut is nil: Just as the Chamber of Commerce wanted.

 

Until campaign finance reform happens, nothing else good for this nation can follow. The corporations write the laws, the lobbyists make sure their pet congressmen pass the corporate laws, and when this nation turns to poop the corporations and their managerial teams get the taxpayers to once again bail them out. The cycle won't end until we fix the way politicians get elected.

 

The 17th amendment is a major reason as well.