Tax refunds down under Trump

How much is he to blame?

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tax-refunds-down-84-percent-twitter-complaints_us_5c5e4576e4b0eec79b2379e4

@metal-brain said
How much is he to blame?

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tax-refunds-down-84-percent-twitter-complaints_us_5c5e4576e4b0eec79b2379e4

how does Trump effect the amount of taxes one has withheld?

@mott-the-hoople said
how does Trump effect the amount of taxes one has withheld?

His tax handout to corporations also included language to reduce the amount of withholding from most individuals' paychecks. It screwed with the formula for how much gets withheld based on deductions, just so that more Americans would have more take-home pay before the midterms. People are pissed off that their refunds are smaller, and those who spent years honing their deductions to take out just enough to cover taxes now have a tax bill come April 15th. He shot himself in the ass on this one.

@mott-the-hoople said
how does Trump effect the amount of taxes one has withheld?

Trump is the head of the Executive Branch.

The Treasury Department is part of the Executive Branch

The Internal Revenue Service is part of the Treasury Department.

The IRS made changes to withholding in January 2018 when Trump was President:

To help businesses apply recent law changes to withholding, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2018-14 and Publication 15, Employer's Tax Guide. These materials are designed to help employers and employees with a variety of withholding matters during and after the transition to new, reduced tax rates and updated withholding tables.

As a reminder, employers should be using the 2018 withholding tables as soon as possible, but not later than Feb. 15, 2018.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-statements-withholding-for-2018

Glad to help.

@mott-the-hoople said
how does Trump effect the amount of taxes one has withheld?

Here's a more extensive analysis:

But GOP operatives insisted that the “blue wave” on the horizon would crest long before November — because the Trump Tax Cuts were about to kick in. Once voters saw fatter paychecks, Republicans would see better poll numbers. And just to be sure that voters noticed all the good Paul Ryan had done for them, the Trump administration reportedly pressured the IRS to err on the side of withholding too little from Americans’ paychecks “so people will see big increases in their take-home pay ahead of this year’s midterm elections.”

This did not work out as planned. Even with (allegedly) light withholding, the the tax bill’s breaks for middle-class people weren’t large enough to attract much notice. Between changes in salaries, health-care premiums, and 401(k) contributions, most Americans didn’t detect much tax relief in their paychecks. The Trump Tax Cuts actually became less popular after they took effect. And, of course, Paul Ryan’s majority drowned in a blue wave.

Now, the bill for the GOP’s (reported) withholding shenanigans is coming due: The average American’s tax refund was 8.4 percent lower in the first week of 2019 than it was one year ago (under the pre-Trump tax code). And while Americans have trouble noticing tax changes when they’re dispersed across 12 to 24 separate paychecks, they do typically pay very close attention to the size of their refunds. About three-quarters of the country typically qualifies for a tax refund most years — and for many of those households, that check from the IRS is the largest lump sum they’ll receive all year.

"Ask people how much they paid in taxes, nobody knows. Ask them how much they got in their refund, people know,” Howard Gleckman , a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center, told the Intercept’s David Dayen this week. “Everyone focuses on size of the refund, and it does affect perception.”

In other words: It looks as though the Republican Party implemented their signature tax bill in a manner that will lead many people who received tax cuts to believe that Donald Trump raised their taxes.

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/02/heres-why-your-tax-refund-is-lower-this-year.html

@no1marauder said
Here's a more extensive analysis:

But GOP operatives insisted that the “blue wave” on the horizon would crest long before November — because the Trump Tax Cuts were about to kick in. Once voters saw fatter paychecks, Republicans would see better poll numbers. And just to be sure that voters noticed all the good Paul Ryan had done for them, [b]the Trump administration r ...[text shortened]... r taxes.

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/02/heres-why-your-tax-refund-is-lower-this-year.html

Refunds are enjoyable, but depending on your tax burden they are not a good measure of how much tax you pay. You can setup your taxes to get a great refund, but that just means you have given the government free money *yours* until the time get a refund. If you setup your taxes so that you are spot on and get no refund that simply means you have kept your money all year long without letting the government have what they are not supposed to get. Refunds are down, next year people will play by the new rules and things will be different.

@kellyjay said
Refunds are enjoyable, but depending on your tax burden they are not a good measure of how much tax you pay. You can setup your taxes to get a great refund, but that just means you have given the government free money *yours* until the time get a refund. If you setup your taxes so that you are spot on and get no refund that simply means you have kept your money all year long ...[text shortened]... to get. Refunds are down, next year people will play by the new rules and things will be different.

Well I agree with that and try to minimize my refund (or even pay a small amount).

But it seems most people prefer to use their withholding options to insure a high refund at the end of the year. It might have been wise to more explicitly inform them that the tax and withholding changes would lead to a lower refund.

@no1marauder said
Well I agree with that and try to minimize my refund (or even pay a small amount).

But it seems most people prefer to use their withholding options to insure a high refund at the end of the year. It might have been wise to more explicitly inform them that the tax and withholding changes would lead to a lower refund.

When the governing laws change questions need to asked about everything, this wasn't done in the dark. We are held accountable we need to stay informed. This is still better than when they raise taxes, and do it retroactively no matter what you are doing then it will still bite you.

@kellyjay said
When the governing laws change questions need to asked about everything, this wasn't done in the dark. We are held accountable we need to stay informed. This is still better than when they raise taxes, and do it retroactively no matter what you are doing then it will still bite you.

You seem to be ignoring the fact that the present administration changed the withholding rules for political reasons i.e. to withhold less so it might help Republicans in the midterms. When the government changes things, they have an obligation to inform the people they are supposed to serve of the effects of such changes. This wasn't done here and if Trump and the Republicans pay a political price, that's on them.

@suzianne said
His tax handout to corporations also included language to reduce the amount of withholding from most individuals' paychecks. It screwed with the formula for how much gets withheld based on deductions, just so that more Americans would have more take-home pay before the midterms. People are pissed off that their refunds are smaller, and those who spent years honing their de ...[text shortened]... nough to cover taxes now have a tax bill come April 15th. He shot himself in the ass on this one.

it is 100% up to the individual employee how much tax is withheld from their paychecks. When I worked I made changes according to my life situation. It is as simple as completing a W4 form. But you know that.

And it was well publicized.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=2018+tax+withholding+changes

@no1marauder said
Trump is the head of the Executive Branch.

The Treasury Department is part of the Executive Branch

The Internal Revenue Service is part of the Treasury Department.

The IRS made changes to withholding in January 2018 when Trump was President:

To help businesses apply recent law changes to withholding, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service iss ...[text shortened]... Feb. 15, 2018.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-statements-withholding-for-2018

Glad to help.

yes, that is how Trump effected businesses, now explain how Trump effected the employees?

@mott-the-hoople said
yes, that is how Trump effected businesses, now explain how Trump effected the employees?

Changes in the withholding rules don't effect employees?

Is "affect" no longer a word??

@no1marauder said
You seem to be ignoring the fact that the present administration changed the withholding rules for political reasons i.e. to withhold less so it might help Republicans in the midterms. When the government changes things, they have an obligation to inform the people they are supposed to serve of the effects of such changes. This wasn't done here and if Trump and the Republicans pay a political price, that's on them.

The past had lawmakers change tax law to raise taxes with some retroactive. Which is another reason I like a flat tax.

@no1marauder said
Changes in the withholding rules don't effect employees?

no more than previously.