It's Not Just For the Rich

Now that the Republican Tax Reform Plan is out there for everyone to see, the attacks are coming from every direction.  The main talking point is that "the middle class is not going to see any relief".  Well I am here to tell you that I will be one of the middle class that will be seeing my taxes lowered.

Being debt-free, childless and healthy, my wife and I don't have nearly enough deductions to itemize on our 1040 every year.  That means we get just the standard deduction and the write off for local taxes and that is about it.  My wife often asks why some people get these huge tax refunds every year (bragging about them on social media) while we usually have to pay in a small amount--even though we both claim no deductions from our paychecks.  I always tell her kids are a huge tax write off--as is mortgage and student loan interest for those that borrowed way to much for their homes or their educations and medical bills for those that don't take care of themselves.  I affectionately refer to it as the "responsibility tax" that we get to pay.

But with the Republican plan to double the standard deduction--and to get rid of all those other write offs I just mentioned--that is tangible savings for my middle class household.  What's more, those living in tax hellholes like California, New York and Minnesota no longer get a big write off with their state and local taxes--meaning they finally feel the full brunt of their over-spending state and local governments and might question why they put up with Democratic leadership.

With parents creeping up in age, phasing out the estate tax (although I doubt we had much to worry about there) could also come in handy for this middle class family.  I've seen a number of on-line commentaries claiming that unfettered inheritance is just another form of "white privilege" as it keeps family wealth from being chipped away by government for "re-distribution".

As an added bonus, the 401(k) tax-free status was retained--following my complaint about that a couple of weeks ago.  So further responsible planning for retirement and less reliance on Social Security and Medicare will not be punished either.  Sometimes the squeaky wheel does get the grease.

So while all of the focus will be on the top ten percent of wage-earners in this country--who won't be paying 53% of the taxes anymore--remember there are plenty of us in the middle who will end up winner as well--after decades of paying more than we should have.