another tax season in the bag

So in nine years Warren Buffett should be exempt from taxes?

-- D.F. Manno snipped-for-privacy@spymac.com In the republic of mediocrity, genius is dangerous. (Robert G. Ingersoll)

I disagree. I have prepared returns for people who are almost 3 times my age and have RMD's that are almost 6 times what I make. No tax going in, and no tax going out? Doesn't sound right.

Social Security should be taxable. I agree that the levels should rise, but not by too much. Again, there are people who are collecting social security that have an AGI almost 6 times mine. I guess I get a little sore when the social security issue arises since I most likely wont get to collect it. I'll spend 40 yrs of my life contributing my

I think AMT is working fine. Just don't buy millions of dollars worth of private activity bonds or a huge vacation home in Kaiwah where you end up paying lots and lots of real estate taxes. Although, I'll change my tune when I become subject to AMT or turn 85 and am receiving money from my 401(k) (i.e. I shouldn't have to file a return). Just make it fair. Although, I think it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for congress to make the tax system fair for everyone. Hope everyone had an enjoyable tax season. Let's do it again next year.

That's a fiction. Even if the system remains unchanged and "goes broke", you'll still be getting around 70% of the benefits you'd get if they "fix" it.

Or live in Massachusetts and have a working spouse and three kids.

-- Rich Carreiro snipped-for-privacy@animato.arlington.ma.us

Actually, I got a kick out of the fact that W. or the first lady did not check the boxes to have $3 go to the presidential campaign fund (or whatever those boxes are).

That won't happen!

You may or may not be old enough to remember the 1964 election campaign. The rumor went around that Barry Goldwater would cut the benefits of those receiving social security (what he actually said was that he would reduce "future" growth in benefits.) Exit polls indicated that this was a major factor in his loss to Lyndon Johnson. Nearly all voters at or near an age to draw benefits voted against him. Politicians learned a lesson from this. Senior citizens are a powerful bloc of voters. Since senior citizens have become a much larger portion of the population, than in

Ahh.. I see. However, living in PA with a working spouse and two kids is safe, though. Must be that extra kid and the wrong commonwealth that causes AMT.

I was trying to point out, your facile glibness to the contrary, that many other people besides the strawman rich person in your original post get hit with the AMT. You don't need a "huge vacation home" or "millions of dollars worth of private activity bonds" to pay AMT. For example, a married couple with three kids, $7,100 of state income tax deducted from their pay, $6,000 of real estate tax (easy to achieve in MA), $300 of personal property tax, and combined (post-401k contribution) wages of $124,000 will pay AMT. Hardly the indolent rich your post gleefully envisions being raked by the AMT.

-- Rich Carreiro snipped-for-privacy@animato.arlington.ma.us