Make it a non-refundable credit if that bothers you
That’s a clever graphic in the Washington Post. As you slide the slider back and forth for lower or higher income, it redraws the graph to show how much different tax deductions and exemptions help average people in that income bracket.
They don’t show the biggest exemption, the employer tax exclusion for health insurance, though.
I’ll go out on limb here and unequivocally state that the “exemption” for employee wage costs far outstrips that spent on health care. My point is that health care is just another labor cost, like life insurance, AD&D, PTO, paid holidays, and the like.
Or, did you mean that the health care expense paid by employers is generally not taxable to employees?
I want to eliminate mortgage interest deduction but I also want to eliminate property gain tax for primary residence. I have to keep detailed documents about home repair, improvement for more than 20 years to reduce property gain tax. It’s too painful.
First off, there are an unlimited number of $500k exemptions. Second, no need to keep receipts for “home repair,” since they are not considered a capital improvement and thus no incorporated into basis. Replacing your heater/ac is a capital improvement. Changing filters, adding coolant is not. Replacing your roof counts as a capital improvement; replacing shingles/patching a leak is not.
^^ Breaking news: A historically anti-tax thinktank has concluded that tax cuts will be a good thing!
In other equally surprising news, the sun will rise tomorrow morning.
^^oh lol.
I like how all the deficit hawks have disappeared too.
Well then, let’s have something from pro-tax entities. That way we can compare opposing views and get informed in a balanced way.
I am pretty sure that this is a tax increase for myself, a divorced, single head of household parent. Right now I get the HOH standard deduction of $9300.00 plus personal exemptions for myself and 3 kids totaling about $16K ($4K each) so if this is going to a flat $12000 standard deduction and no personal exemptions, then I am NOT for this.
^I am afraid you are right. I saw an analysis that compared households. Married filing jointly with two kids come out about even. More than two kids, you lose, single head you lose more. Sorry.
^But aren’t they supposed to also be increasing child tax credits?
I currently get $1000 tax credit for each of the two children I have under 17. I still don’t see how the additional $500.00 or so they are thinking about increasing it to makes up the difference of losing $4000 per child in exemptions.
Oh. I’m screwed. No state income tax deduction? No property tax deduction? I cannot use the words I would like to use to describe this proposal. I may have to sell my house and move, because this proposal (if it becomes law) just wiped out the underpinnings of my financial planning. The ex post facto clause of the federal constitution bans Congress from making a crime out of conduct that was not a crime at the time. The same principles should apply (but don’t) to people who have made rational financial decisions that now are going to be impossible. Am I angry? Yep.
Hope this will stick a big fork into any discussions about having a state income tax here. The fewer forms I have to fill out, the better.
No income tax means state budget is covered by sales tax. I heard sales tax is regressive taxing the poor disportinately.
We have income tax, sales tax, and property tax. We stick it to everyone.
WA sales tax is not hitting the poor substantially disproportionately. FOOD is not taxed. Only non-food stuff, like soda. 
And services, like home improvement and eating out.
Bluebayou - Yes, health insurance is a business expense to the employer, just like wages. The difference is,employees pay taxes on their wages, but not on the health insurance premiums their employer gives them. Employer insurance premiums are excluded from tax.
Another single person who will see an increase if this plan passes as proposed. I’m an itemizer with decreasing mortgage interest, but increasing property taxes and state & local income taxes. If that deduction is lost, it will cost me. I don’t mind paying what I currently pay, but I have a big problem paying more when the top payers will get a significant cut.