Major Announcement
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Major Announcement
Just in time for Christmas, something for the fans of Donald Trump has just been announced: https://collecttrumpcards.com/
Re: Major Announcement
Ha Ha, so you are buying just a Number in Cyberspace, hi hi.
You Pay MONEY, and they send you an e-mail saying you bought X number of fictitious cards.
Sounds like a SCAM to me Yogi, hi hi.
I saw the notice also NOT FOR INVESTMENT PURPOSES.
You Pay MONEY, and they send you an e-mail saying you bought X number of fictitious cards.
Sounds like a SCAM to me Yogi, hi hi.
I saw the notice also NOT FOR INVESTMENT PURPOSES.
Re: Major Announcement
That entire product is a joke. However, the NFT concept is real and being traded in many places. I mentioned this to you a while back in the regard that you could do something similar with items you have created. The concept certainly seems bogus, but it is legitimate. It's similar in nature to people who own mineral rights. The rights are not tangible and the rights have no other value than what somebody is willing to pay. The minerals, or cards in this case, trade independently in a market of their own.
These cards being offered by Trump will bring him big bucks to be sure regardless of their intrinsic value. Doesn't matter that Trump has a record of scams a mile long. Once somebody buys the NFT the market price for it is out of Trump's or the current owner's control.
These cards being offered by Trump will bring him big bucks to be sure regardless of their intrinsic value. Doesn't matter that Trump has a record of scams a mile long. Once somebody buys the NFT the market price for it is out of Trump's or the current owner's control.
Re: Major Announcement
I saw an ad from an artist who is fairly well known, some of his lithographs are popular too.
He came up with a new very nice looking lithograph of his original painting, but chose not to print it.
Instead, he claims he will sell 150 digital numbered copies, and no more than the 150.
You get a digital copy of the one you purchased, if you want to download it, but claims it is not necessary to be the owner.
Other than an e-mail showing you purchased, lithograph number such n such, you have no other proof of ownership.
Unless they keep that info in a database somewhere for their records.
The only person I see getting money from this is the artist, which is OK.
And supposedly you can resell YOUR numbered digital copy to someone else.
But personally, I don't see how this is not a scam of sorts.
You'll notice the site said only a few Trump Cards are available, like 2 of this one, 4 of this one, etc.
I'm sure they can keep coming up with new cards, but how could they ever really be worth anything?
He came up with a new very nice looking lithograph of his original painting, but chose not to print it.
Instead, he claims he will sell 150 digital numbered copies, and no more than the 150.
You get a digital copy of the one you purchased, if you want to download it, but claims it is not necessary to be the owner.
Other than an e-mail showing you purchased, lithograph number such n such, you have no other proof of ownership.
Unless they keep that info in a database somewhere for their records.
The only person I see getting money from this is the artist, which is OK.
And supposedly you can resell YOUR numbered digital copy to someone else.
But personally, I don't see how this is not a scam of sorts.
You'll notice the site said only a few Trump Cards are available, like 2 of this one, 4 of this one, etc.
I'm sure they can keep coming up with new cards, but how could they ever really be worth anything?
Re: Major Announcement
I think you have the idea of what an NFT is and express it well in your story about the artist. An NFT gives you ownership, but not the physical property. Thus you can own the Mona Lisa, but not ever have it in your possession. The artist, Leonardo da Vinci, would write up some paperwork validating that he indeed is the original artist to create the painting. Naturally, he owns it. An NFT is simply a token, another piece of paper, that says Leonardo da Vinci indisputably verified he created the painting and passed the ownership rights onto you, the buyer of the NFT. The agent who arranged the sale gets a cut of the selling price, but the creator gets the bulk of the sales price. Once the NFT is sold, the artist, Leonardo da Vinci in this case, is out of it. He could have set up the sale so that he gets a commission for any future sales of that NFT, but most artists don't do that.
So, now, you have a token claiming you own the Mona Lisa. Well, that's a very popular piece of artwork and there likely are other people who would like to own it as well. So, you arrange for the broker to advertise the availability of your Mona Lisa NFT, and anybody who wants to own it will make an offer. If the offer is good enough, you sell. And, being the Mona Lisa there could be several purchases going forward all of which increase the price of that NFT. Aft4erall, you bought it as an investment hoping that there is a market for reselling it.
Donald Trump's cards are offered with the disclaimer that this should not be considered as an investment. That is the tip off that he figures the NFT for his cards is going to increase in value over the years. Unless you really love the man, why else would you buy those stupid cards? LOL Donald being who he is will certainly give some value to the "owner" of his cards. It really won't matter if he dies in jail or becomes king of the Universe. People are attracted to the guy and will pay to have something personal of his. He, after all, had to certify that he is the creator of the particular card you purchased an NFT for. Just like Leonardo da Vinci in my fictional scenario above. Yes, there are people who would pay a high price for this kind of ownership. (Actually, since da Vinci is dead he cannot make an NFT, so this scheme won't work in that case)
NFT's are relatively new and can be applied to anything. I suggested to you that you could create an NFT for the formula used to make AZ-NO3 (if I got the name right). Somebody in the aquarium world would love to own your invention, and thus would pay for the NFT that says so. At least that was my theory for getting you some income by doing just a small amount of paperwork. It sure as hell seems bogus, but then people who own IBM stocks are doing the same thing. Do they REALLY own part of IBM?
So, now, you have a token claiming you own the Mona Lisa. Well, that's a very popular piece of artwork and there likely are other people who would like to own it as well. So, you arrange for the broker to advertise the availability of your Mona Lisa NFT, and anybody who wants to own it will make an offer. If the offer is good enough, you sell. And, being the Mona Lisa there could be several purchases going forward all of which increase the price of that NFT. Aft4erall, you bought it as an investment hoping that there is a market for reselling it.
Donald Trump's cards are offered with the disclaimer that this should not be considered as an investment. That is the tip off that he figures the NFT for his cards is going to increase in value over the years. Unless you really love the man, why else would you buy those stupid cards? LOL Donald being who he is will certainly give some value to the "owner" of his cards. It really won't matter if he dies in jail or becomes king of the Universe. People are attracted to the guy and will pay to have something personal of his. He, after all, had to certify that he is the creator of the particular card you purchased an NFT for. Just like Leonardo da Vinci in my fictional scenario above. Yes, there are people who would pay a high price for this kind of ownership. (Actually, since da Vinci is dead he cannot make an NFT, so this scheme won't work in that case)
NFT's are relatively new and can be applied to anything. I suggested to you that you could create an NFT for the formula used to make AZ-NO3 (if I got the name right). Somebody in the aquarium world would love to own your invention, and thus would pay for the NFT that says so. At least that was my theory for getting you some income by doing just a small amount of paperwork. It sure as hell seems bogus, but then people who own IBM stocks are doing the same thing. Do they REALLY own part of IBM?
Re: Major Announcement
I think I will stick with something tangible.
I'm sure hackers will find a way to claim they own an NFT for something and have the proof that they do.
I worked with a crook once, back in the early days of computing when we had the MAC+ and MACse computers.
He was forever changing documents around to suit his needs to scam folks. Naturally the papers are all printed out and signed, so they had an original. Didn't matter, he would keep the last signed page and change the rest of the paperwork, by setting the date of his computer back so the file shows it was created on such n such a date, and then print out the modified pages.
And to make sure NONE of his pages ever got changed, he always duplicated the last sentence of a page on the top of the new page, and he would then Initial every page after it was printed out. Nobody could pull his tricks back on himself, hi hi.
His gimmick to get the pages back so a client of his did not have an original copy, was to mark them as a draft with a promise to give them a bound fresh copy to keep. He was sneaky alright, but at least he ended up in prison where he died.
I'm sure hackers will find a way to claim they own an NFT for something and have the proof that they do.
I worked with a crook once, back in the early days of computing when we had the MAC+ and MACse computers.
He was forever changing documents around to suit his needs to scam folks. Naturally the papers are all printed out and signed, so they had an original. Didn't matter, he would keep the last signed page and change the rest of the paperwork, by setting the date of his computer back so the file shows it was created on such n such a date, and then print out the modified pages.
And to make sure NONE of his pages ever got changed, he always duplicated the last sentence of a page on the top of the new page, and he would then Initial every page after it was printed out. Nobody could pull his tricks back on himself, hi hi.
His gimmick to get the pages back so a client of his did not have an original copy, was to mark them as a draft with a promise to give them a bound fresh copy to keep. He was sneaky alright, but at least he ended up in prison where he died.
Re: Major Announcement
It's been reported that Donald Trump walked off with over $40 Million for his cards' NFT. They sold out the entire stock in less than 24 hours. I don't know what Trump did, but other people who offer NFT's only accept crypto-currency, which is why there is a broker involved. Because it is bit coin the transactions are recorded as a block chain and thus it becomes impossible to hack the ownership credentials. Of course the ill informed will fall for just about any gimmick, but when nuts comes down to bolts there is only one path to prove who owns the NFT. Besides, does it really matter what somebody down the line does after you, the originator, collected your initial offering price? That's the situation Trump is in right now. Those $100 cards could drop down to a value of 3 cents and he would still have that $40 Million in his pocket.
The scammer you worked with ended up in the proper place, jail. It's very possible the baseball card con man I mentioned above will do the same, but not for the same reasons. And, you are making the right decision not to get involved with something you don't fully understand.
The scammer you worked with ended up in the proper place, jail. It's very possible the baseball card con man I mentioned above will do the same, but not for the same reasons. And, you are making the right decision not to get involved with something you don't fully understand.
Re: Major Announcement
You know, back when BitCoin was just getting popular, and because I had a few computers handy, I got involved with letting my computers handle the exchanges. The idea and they hype was one could harvest BitCoins as a reward for letting your computers do all that work. Well the proof was in the pudding so to speak. Even with four computers doing nothing but that all day, they were not earning enough to even pay for the amount of electric they were using.
While during that same amount of time, a few with those big fancy high-speed computers that were set-up just for the purpose exclusively were raking in all the dough. Supposedly we were running the same downloadable program to make it all work.
I forget now how long I let those computers run, but I know it was over two years, but not quite four years. There was not enough money in my wallet to even buy a stick of gum. I cashed in for my 11 cents I think it was, and closed my wallet.
I stayed totally away from Crypto Currency ever since. And now you see all kinds of them popping up, and the only people getting rich are those who start one of those up. Because they set the price for the first coins sold, and have a hundred thousand or more they can sell before they say they are all gone, so those sold should now go up in value. But I guess that is provided there are folks out there willing to keep using them.
I'll stick with my worthless Fiat Currency as folks still take it with no problems.
While during that same amount of time, a few with those big fancy high-speed computers that were set-up just for the purpose exclusively were raking in all the dough. Supposedly we were running the same downloadable program to make it all work.
I forget now how long I let those computers run, but I know it was over two years, but not quite four years. There was not enough money in my wallet to even buy a stick of gum. I cashed in for my 11 cents I think it was, and closed my wallet.
I stayed totally away from Crypto Currency ever since. And now you see all kinds of them popping up, and the only people getting rich are those who start one of those up. Because they set the price for the first coins sold, and have a hundred thousand or more they can sell before they say they are all gone, so those sold should now go up in value. But I guess that is provided there are folks out there willing to keep using them.
I'll stick with my worthless Fiat Currency as folks still take it with no problems.
Re: Major Announcement
The value of digital money is market dependent. That is why I think it is too risky for my participation. It's not that I don't trust the market. Most of my retirement funds are invested in equities that are traded publicly. BitCoin, and all its derivatives, have nowhere near the same market participation as common stocks. Thus it is a lot easier to manipulate the coin value because smaller amounts of cash can make a huge difference in the trading value of the coin. It's not to say the well established common stocks market is free from manipulation, but it's a lot harder there and way more money is needed. I say digital money is a scam because its worth is a perceived value. Some major coin banks have gone under and taken all their holders with them just recently due to the games one or two people were playing. There are quite a few other coin banks still going strong and even the Federal Reserve is considering using digital money. The only outstanding issue seems to be how to regulate such a market. They can regulate stocks and bond markets, so maybe there is a chance all our money will turn into ones and zeroes some day.
Re: Major Announcement
Same here, way to risky. Plus it was hard to find anyplace who even took BitCoins, except for scammers out there, the same ones who want Green Dot Cards, hi hi.
Of course the BANKS want everything digital, because they make a FEE on every transaction.
Just take a look at how credit and debit cards work and all the fees associated with them.
Cash is KING, and probably always will be, even if we have to go back to secured paper or using gold and silver.
Of course the BANKS want everything digital, because they make a FEE on every transaction.
Just take a look at how credit and debit cards work and all the fees associated with them.
Cash is KING, and probably always will be, even if we have to go back to secured paper or using gold and silver.
Re: Major Announcement
Cash most certainly is KING in that all the power in the world is related to cash. Just about every headline you read has some money motivation behind it, and, of course, we could not live day to day without it. Having said that, there is no reason why we need a physical currency. Transaction fees associated with credit cards don't happen with digital money in its present form. Those 1's and 0's go into an equally invisible wallet that you own, which for all intents and purposes is better than the wallet in your pocket. Nobody has been known to pick pocket a digital wallet, although they have been known to steal the contents of the digital wallet. Trust me, it's a lot harder to raid an encrypted wallet than it is to empty your bank account by nefarious means. The real problem is a psychological one. People today would feel a lot better if they had gold nuggets instead of paper dollars to spend. Virtual currency is spooky to most folks. Be that all as it may, it's all worth the same amount and has the same power.
Re: Major Announcement
I imagine some day, and too far off either, the government will get in on the bandwagon and start their own cryptocurrency, and have the banks involved in such a way that your wallet is insured, and the banks will charge a monthly fee.
Now it won't cost the government anything to stuff their wallet since they control it, and they will dilute down the cryptocurrency in the same way the do fiat currency, make more with nothing to back it up.
Elavon, one of the companies that handles credit card transactions is moving their operation to I think Debi said Portugal.
I'm sure some of it has to do with the high taxes they pay here on their land and building, among all the other taxes they have to pay out. Also to get out from under all the pensions they owe.
Now it won't cost the government anything to stuff their wallet since they control it, and they will dilute down the cryptocurrency in the same way the do fiat currency, make more with nothing to back it up.
Elavon, one of the companies that handles credit card transactions is moving their operation to I think Debi said Portugal.
I'm sure some of it has to do with the high taxes they pay here on their land and building, among all the other taxes they have to pay out. Also to get out from under all the pensions they owe.
Re: Major Announcement
Official digital currency is currently a can of worms. The theory of it all is good, but the whole idea is still in its infancy with a lot of bugs to be worked out. The idea of using digital money is so good that the world's central banks are actively pursuing ways to make the transition. Having a hard drive full of digital wallets sure is a lot easier to control than Fort Knox, for example. And, besides, the idea of backing your currency with metal is obsolete. Today's dollar is rooted in the value of the country, which is how they broke away from the gold standard. The value of the USA is an arbitrary and perceived judgement so that fixing the price of digital currency in an arbitrary way isn't any different. The only discussion left among those central banks is how to go about establishing a stable and standard monetary unit. Once it's all digitized there will be no way to cash in the 1's and 0's for anything tangible like gold bullion. Banks for that purpose will be deprecated. I guess you would have to sell off some acreage of your country if you wanted to convert digital money into something material. Obviously it ain't gonna happen that way, but it will happen. Once the central banks of the world figure out how to standardize the value of digital money, we wont' have a need for leather wallets anymore.
Re: Major Announcement
I'm sure you are right! And the governments will figure out ways in which to tax it heavily, and banks will figure out ways to add high fees to its usage. Only after they figure out those two things will it become commonplace.
It still kills me that they can Tax something that is totally unchangeable, no loss, no gain, but they tax it anyhow.
Also they now add fines, penalties, require licenses, and all kinds of crazy things, just like they always have.
It still kills me that they can Tax something that is totally unchangeable, no loss, no gain, but they tax it anyhow.
Also they now add fines, penalties, require licenses, and all kinds of crazy things, just like they always have.
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Taxes are a way to collect funds necessary to run the government. Ever since money was invented they have been trying to figure out ways to make taxes equitable so that everybody pays their fair share. The problem is in trying to determine exactly what a "fair share" of the operating costs might be. Your contribution to the government in the form of taxes should not be the same as Elon Musk's, for example. Even if there was no waste, corruption, or greed in the formula, it would still be extremely difficult to determine your fair share. Whether you pay your fair share in gold, US Dollars, or digital currency, should not matter.
The big advantage for financial institutions to use digital money is in the blockchain concept. I am far from understanding all the details, but the method of record keeping eliminates a lot of potential for fraud, such as money laundering. Theft would also be easy to trace given that all transactions are recorded in a permanent database. The movement of money would be transparent, and that too is attractive to central banks involved in international trade. Individuals will be taxed on digital currency exactly the same way they are currently taxed. The only thing that changes is the medium. And that is a hard thing for most folks to wrap their heads around.
The big advantage for financial institutions to use digital money is in the blockchain concept. I am far from understanding all the details, but the method of record keeping eliminates a lot of potential for fraud, such as money laundering. Theft would also be easy to trace given that all transactions are recorded in a permanent database. The movement of money would be transparent, and that too is attractive to central banks involved in international trade. Individuals will be taxed on digital currency exactly the same way they are currently taxed. The only thing that changes is the medium. And that is a hard thing for most folks to wrap their heads around.
Re: Major Announcement
The big problem is, the government collects way too much, pays themselves way too much, and wastes way too much.
The Federal government, and many states, collect taxes on how much money you earn or receive from investments, basically all income is taxed. I think the amount of income tax one pays should be the same percentage for every individual, and based only on income to that individual, not recapture of your own money back. In other words, if you loan 50 dollars, and get back 55 dollars you only pay taxes on the 5 dollar increase in your investment. And that is pretty much how income taxes go right now, except for the high percentage they charge against people who work harder or smarter. Why should they be punished?
The Federal government a small amount, and many states, counties, and cities, collect sales taxes, at grossly exorbitant rates. And most of the money collected is used primarily to fund the local governments payroll to themselves.
ONLY and Individual should pay income taxes, not businesses, corporations, or non-profit without salaried staff. If they have salaried staff, then the staff person is an individual and should pay income tax, even if the place they work is non-profit.
There are just way too many things that are taxed that should not be taxed. Personal Property is one such tax that should be abolished. Many states even tax your lawn mower. An aging guy scrimps and saves to buy a riding lawn mower so he can continue mowing for a few more years, and many states tax that riding lawn mower.
Property Taxes are a necessity to help pay for the services provided by your community, city or county.
I agree with everyone should pay a fair share of School Taxes, whether they have children or not, even folks without children benefit from what the children are taught in school. But when a homeowner reaches the age of 65, then all property taxes to them should cease. They have paid their dues, and most don't have enough income to cover the inflation on everything else that has gone up, and most of those things they are paying for they don't use anymore either. Let the younger generation and their high priced properties cover the expenses, not those who are barely getting by, but who have paid their dues their entire lives. Make a solid cut off point, whether it is age 65 or age 70, cut off the property taxes.
Who is maintaining the database for block-chain? I thought the idea of block-chain was that everyone is saving the data in thousands of places. I'm sure someone had to pay for the programming and getting it started, whether or not it has a central database or not, and most of those made their money by started the block-chain crypto-currency. Like BitCoin stated there were x number of coins and there would never be any more coins. So, once all those coins were gone, at ever increasingly large amounts until they were, then after that the value was supposed to stabilize and only increase or decrease based on usage of BitCoins. And now you see a few new companies out there issuing crypto-currency, and since they are starting it, they can fill their own wallet up and stash it away until the price is 10 or 100 times greater, then add them in for cash.
The Federal government, and many states, collect taxes on how much money you earn or receive from investments, basically all income is taxed. I think the amount of income tax one pays should be the same percentage for every individual, and based only on income to that individual, not recapture of your own money back. In other words, if you loan 50 dollars, and get back 55 dollars you only pay taxes on the 5 dollar increase in your investment. And that is pretty much how income taxes go right now, except for the high percentage they charge against people who work harder or smarter. Why should they be punished?
The Federal government a small amount, and many states, counties, and cities, collect sales taxes, at grossly exorbitant rates. And most of the money collected is used primarily to fund the local governments payroll to themselves.
ONLY and Individual should pay income taxes, not businesses, corporations, or non-profit without salaried staff. If they have salaried staff, then the staff person is an individual and should pay income tax, even if the place they work is non-profit.
There are just way too many things that are taxed that should not be taxed. Personal Property is one such tax that should be abolished. Many states even tax your lawn mower. An aging guy scrimps and saves to buy a riding lawn mower so he can continue mowing for a few more years, and many states tax that riding lawn mower.
Property Taxes are a necessity to help pay for the services provided by your community, city or county.
I agree with everyone should pay a fair share of School Taxes, whether they have children or not, even folks without children benefit from what the children are taught in school. But when a homeowner reaches the age of 65, then all property taxes to them should cease. They have paid their dues, and most don't have enough income to cover the inflation on everything else that has gone up, and most of those things they are paying for they don't use anymore either. Let the younger generation and their high priced properties cover the expenses, not those who are barely getting by, but who have paid their dues their entire lives. Make a solid cut off point, whether it is age 65 or age 70, cut off the property taxes.
Who is maintaining the database for block-chain? I thought the idea of block-chain was that everyone is saving the data in thousands of places. I'm sure someone had to pay for the programming and getting it started, whether or not it has a central database or not, and most of those made their money by started the block-chain crypto-currency. Like BitCoin stated there were x number of coins and there would never be any more coins. So, once all those coins were gone, at ever increasingly large amounts until they were, then after that the value was supposed to stabilize and only increase or decrease based on usage of BitCoins. And now you see a few new companies out there issuing crypto-currency, and since they are starting it, they can fill their own wallet up and stash it away until the price is 10 or 100 times greater, then add them in for cash.
Re: Major Announcement
At the end of the day the dollar amount needed to run the government must be covered. If the government operates on excesses, corruption, or outright theft, it does not matter. The only question is how much income do they need. The ideal system would tax at a flat rate which everyone pays, including businesses in that they are legal entities. This ideal system would also have a guaranteed minimum wage so that there would be no need for exceptions. Everyone pays the Governance Tax. I can justify more than one taxing body, such as federal, state, county, city, and whatever other independent bodies of governance might be out there because the needs and expenses at every level is different. Each level provides the necessary services and it does not matter if the tax payer uses those services or not. Paying the flat tax is the price for living wherever they live. The question of who uses what services should be irrelevant. All services are available to all citizens.
There are indeed many blockchains, but each transaction in that currency is traceable within that block. The problem today is that there are too many and they can vary wildly in value. That's fine for speculation, and you are correct to point out that the founders of a given digital currency is speculating. That is no different than a land developer who buys land dirt cheap and sells it at a premium price after the value peaks. Given that there is no consistency among today's purveyors of digital currency, their functionality depends on the honor system. Well, you know how honorable money handlers can be. Because it is such a mess at the moment, but also a great idea, the central banks are looking into the possibilities in a very serious sense. If they ever work it out, then it will be easy peasey to transition everybody else off local currency into digital currency.
There are indeed many blockchains, but each transaction in that currency is traceable within that block. The problem today is that there are too many and they can vary wildly in value. That's fine for speculation, and you are correct to point out that the founders of a given digital currency is speculating. That is no different than a land developer who buys land dirt cheap and sells it at a premium price after the value peaks. Given that there is no consistency among today's purveyors of digital currency, their functionality depends on the honor system. Well, you know how honorable money handlers can be. Because it is such a mess at the moment, but also a great idea, the central banks are looking into the possibilities in a very serious sense. If they ever work it out, then it will be easy peasey to transition everybody else off local currency into digital currency.
Re: Major Announcement
I agree that a flat tax would be the ideal way to go, for anyone with an income to tax.
But I still have to say no to taxing businesses, because they don't actually pay the tax, it is passed on to the end consumer and inflated rates.
When I used to work in the construction trades, OSHA required certain things, depending on the trade. Anything required by law, within reason of course, IS TAX DEDUCTIBLE. It's the Scale they Use that is off kilter, hi hi.
Did you know a Uniform is tax deductible, but it must meet certain requirements too. Meaning, for work only, not leisure.
In some industries you can have up to four new uniforms per year, others only one per year.
Then there are folks like me who wear clothes until they are threadbare, so rarely if every replace anything.
Steel Toed boots were a requirement for plumbers, electricians, and construction workers.
Me, I wear the same boots for years, adding car tire treads when the soles get thin, so never took a deduction.
There was a guy who worked for my brother as a route man. He did not need a uniform. However, he got and wore one every day to work. His Shirt had to have our company name over the pocket, and it could be elsewhere on the shirt as well. But just his name and the company name embroidered on the khaki shirt qualified it for the deduction, so he got a new shirt every year.
Pants had to have a stripe down the outside of the leg. The law did not say it had to be a contrasting color, so all of his khaki pants he bought had the added on stripe down the outside seam. And he wore steel toed boots, because he handled heavy machinery in the course of his job.
Now he made enough money, both there and elsewhere, that the percentage he could take was meaningful enough to bother with all that extra paperwork.
I tried it myself, but for only one year when I was driving for ALDinc. I didn't earn enough money for the deduction to amount to anything. Spent more time calculating it than what I saved on my taxes. It came out to something like 3 or 4 bucks is all. So was not worth the hassle and added bookwork and receipts.
Now, if we had a Flat Tax with NO DEDUCTIONS for anything. You pay based solely on Income, regardless of the source, and that income must be an Increase not a repayment of the principle amount which was already taxed.
BUT THEN TOO, What Taxes you Paid to State, County, City, etc. should be an allowable deduction, UNLESS you are talking about Sales Taxes.
Looking back to the way our town was run. We paid Taxes to the State and County. And the City would get some of those taxes back for whatever service they alleviated from the County. A town could not alleviate the State of what they do.
For example: If your town decided to have its own Fire Department, the amount the residents who lived in the Fire District paid to the County, those funds would be sent back to the town to operate their fire department, or police department.
If they could not work within that budgeted amount, then they don't need their own fire department yet.
But I still have to say no to taxing businesses, because they don't actually pay the tax, it is passed on to the end consumer and inflated rates.
When I used to work in the construction trades, OSHA required certain things, depending on the trade. Anything required by law, within reason of course, IS TAX DEDUCTIBLE. It's the Scale they Use that is off kilter, hi hi.
Did you know a Uniform is tax deductible, but it must meet certain requirements too. Meaning, for work only, not leisure.
In some industries you can have up to four new uniforms per year, others only one per year.
Then there are folks like me who wear clothes until they are threadbare, so rarely if every replace anything.
Steel Toed boots were a requirement for plumbers, electricians, and construction workers.
Me, I wear the same boots for years, adding car tire treads when the soles get thin, so never took a deduction.
There was a guy who worked for my brother as a route man. He did not need a uniform. However, he got and wore one every day to work. His Shirt had to have our company name over the pocket, and it could be elsewhere on the shirt as well. But just his name and the company name embroidered on the khaki shirt qualified it for the deduction, so he got a new shirt every year.
Pants had to have a stripe down the outside of the leg. The law did not say it had to be a contrasting color, so all of his khaki pants he bought had the added on stripe down the outside seam. And he wore steel toed boots, because he handled heavy machinery in the course of his job.
Now he made enough money, both there and elsewhere, that the percentage he could take was meaningful enough to bother with all that extra paperwork.
I tried it myself, but for only one year when I was driving for ALDinc. I didn't earn enough money for the deduction to amount to anything. Spent more time calculating it than what I saved on my taxes. It came out to something like 3 or 4 bucks is all. So was not worth the hassle and added bookwork and receipts.
Now, if we had a Flat Tax with NO DEDUCTIONS for anything. You pay based solely on Income, regardless of the source, and that income must be an Increase not a repayment of the principle amount which was already taxed.
BUT THEN TOO, What Taxes you Paid to State, County, City, etc. should be an allowable deduction, UNLESS you are talking about Sales Taxes.
Looking back to the way our town was run. We paid Taxes to the State and County. And the City would get some of those taxes back for whatever service they alleviated from the County. A town could not alleviate the State of what they do.
For example: If your town decided to have its own Fire Department, the amount the residents who lived in the Fire District paid to the County, those funds would be sent back to the town to operate their fire department, or police department.
If they could not work within that budgeted amount, then they don't need their own fire department yet.
Re: Major Announcement
A business has expenses that need to be reimbursed much the same as governing bodies. In other words, operating expenses are necessary to provide the given product or service. All levels of government follow the same economic rule as businesses with the exception that governing bodies are not profit making entities. Businesses are designed to be profitable, which is income. The flat tax I perceive would be applied only to income, and since businesses have income they must pay their fair share of taxes on that. Profit, the reason for being, is calculated by subtracting expenses from income and generally the bulk of a business's income is from it's sales. I think that's how accounting has been working ever since the abacus was invented.
The income tax system in place in our country today is an abomination of complicated rules. All, or most of, those rules can be eliminated and substituted with my idea of a flat tax on income.
I am indeed aware of the fact that any work related expense can be a tax deduction if you are not reimbursed by your employer. The gas you use to get to work, however, is not a qualified tax deduction in most cases. However, if you are at work and you use your automobile to perform some business related task, that gasoline and maintenance cost is deductible. Back at Motorola it was something like 55 cents/mile that could go to a tax deduction, but in my case that is the reimbursement Motorola gave me. Gas and insurance was pretty cheap back then and I am certain the travel allowance is much higher in 2022 than it was in 1992. I also found out that out of pocket medical expenses include the travel allowance for time/distance spent getting to and from your healthcare provider. Most of the time it's not worth calculating medical expenses because the required expense prior to allowed deductions is quite high. The standard deduction is often a better deal. But, we did have a couple years where that was not the case and I did qualify to deduct certain medical expenses. I'm pretty sure the same travel deduction applies to education expenses if that education is related to your work. So, anyway, yes I'm aware of the myriad of deductions that are possible. I don't qualify for most of them now that I'm on fixed income and have no outstanding debt. Even so, it would most likely mean an increase in income if I did not have to pay any taxes but that due on income at a flat rate.
The income tax system in place in our country today is an abomination of complicated rules. All, or most of, those rules can be eliminated and substituted with my idea of a flat tax on income.
I am indeed aware of the fact that any work related expense can be a tax deduction if you are not reimbursed by your employer. The gas you use to get to work, however, is not a qualified tax deduction in most cases. However, if you are at work and you use your automobile to perform some business related task, that gasoline and maintenance cost is deductible. Back at Motorola it was something like 55 cents/mile that could go to a tax deduction, but in my case that is the reimbursement Motorola gave me. Gas and insurance was pretty cheap back then and I am certain the travel allowance is much higher in 2022 than it was in 1992. I also found out that out of pocket medical expenses include the travel allowance for time/distance spent getting to and from your healthcare provider. Most of the time it's not worth calculating medical expenses because the required expense prior to allowed deductions is quite high. The standard deduction is often a better deal. But, we did have a couple years where that was not the case and I did qualify to deduct certain medical expenses. I'm pretty sure the same travel deduction applies to education expenses if that education is related to your work. So, anyway, yes I'm aware of the myriad of deductions that are possible. I don't qualify for most of them now that I'm on fixed income and have no outstanding debt. Even so, it would most likely mean an increase in income if I did not have to pay any taxes but that due on income at a flat rate.
Re: Major Announcement
Can I ask WHY you want to tax businesses on their Income?
When you know they add that tax, plus the accounting cost to handle it, back into the selling price of the product, so the end consumer ends up paying all the taxes, through the chain of manufacturing and distribution.
I got a small deduction on last years taxes, one I never took before because I never thought it applied to me.
The only drawback is, whether I took it or not, it didn't change the bottom line on my tax return.
It would have if we had state income tax here, but we don't.
When you know they add that tax, plus the accounting cost to handle it, back into the selling price of the product, so the end consumer ends up paying all the taxes, through the chain of manufacturing and distribution.
I got a small deduction on last years taxes, one I never took before because I never thought it applied to me.
The only drawback is, whether I took it or not, it didn't change the bottom line on my tax return.
It would have if we had state income tax here, but we don't.