Tax question

[Walsingham]

Are clothes always taxed?

 

If so, why? Are they not essentials?

[taks]

food is usually the one thing that is not taxed, and this isn't true everywhere in the US (it's not taxed in colorado, unless it is prepared in a restaurant).

 

taks

[Gfted1]

Here in Illinois they have two types of taxes, "high tax" and "low tax". Products such as food and medicine fall under the category of "low tax" and items considered "luxury" (which is pretty much everything else) fall into the "high tax" category. As youve probably already figured out, the only difference between the two taxed is the percentage rate. I sure do miss living in places like Florida that dont have a state tax.

[Tale]

Clothes aren't taxed on tax holidays.

[Sand]

Food items here in Iowa are nontaxed, also about 2 to three days, usually in September, a year clothing, school supplies, and the such are nonTaxed.

[Guard Dog]

There are different taxes Wals. The Federal Government does not have a sales tax. They tax income, capital gains, estates, tariffs, etc. They do not tax goods, services, real estate, that kind of thing. The states do. But if you ask about state taxes (like your orginal post would be a sales tax) you will get fifty different answers.

 

Wayyyy too many taxes actually. In the US, 47% on average of every dollar you earn goes to taxes. That is insideous. But that is what you get when people vote for democrats. They will tax you to death.... then tax your corpse and take 50% of everything you leave behind.

[Hurlshort]

There are different taxes Wals. The Federal Government does not have a sales tax. They tax income, capital gains, estates, tariffs, etc. They do not tax goods, services, real estate, that kind of thing. The states do. But if you ask about state taxes (like your orginal post would be a sales tax) you will get fifty different answers.

 

Wayyyy too many taxes actually. In the US, 47% on average of every dollar you earn goes to taxes. That is insideous. But that is what you get when people vote for democrats. They will tax you to death.... then tax your corpse and take 50% of everything you leave behind.

 

 

It's even higher in countries with free health care and more socialist services. The average federal tax is only about 10% of a person's income, although it varies depending on salary, dependants, write offs, etc.

 

I'm not complaining about taxes. I enjoy th quality of life I have in the US, and I know a large part of that is because I pay taxes. Of curse, my slary is also paid by the taxpayers, so it would be silly to complain too much on my end. No matter how low the taxes are, though, there will always be people complaining they are too much.

[LadyCrimson]

I don't mind income taxes - it's the high prices I mind.

 

California...social security+federal+state taxes combined equal about 40-60% of your annual income - Social Security is almost as much as the actual Federal taxes. On state and Federal, rates varies on how much you earn, deductions if any, etc.

 

There's generally no food-grocery tax but there are still food items or food services (like getting a pizza) that have taxes. Plus minor recycling fees and the like on some things added to the price.

[Enoch]

For the purposes of U.S. federal income taxes, I believe that some clothing purchases can be deductable. Not everyday clothes or business attire, but if you have to wear a uniform, or protective gear, or similar stuff, you can deduct that cost from your taxable income as a business expense. Otherwise, the cost of clothing ones self is assumed to be covered by the personal exemption, which allows each person $3,400 of untaxed income (although it phases out at very high income levels).

Edited March 6, 2007 by Enoch

[LadyCrimson]

but if you have to wear a uniform, or protective gear, or similar stuff, you can deduct that cost from your taxable income as a business expense.

Yeah, I belive that to be true, also. There's a lot of things that can be used as a business expense. We deduct one of our rooms as an office for hubby, and a percentage of auto expenses and such. Just not plain 'old clothes.'

[taks]

it seems the personal exemption went up to $3900 this year, but i could be wrong. i only gave turbotax a cursory glance when i filed this year (electronically). there's also a difference if you take the "standard deduction," which one would use if not itemizing, and is different still. i itemize due to the amount of mortgage interest i pay so i don't know that number.

 

yes, btw, uniforms are deductible if you buy your own. deducting a part of your home for a home office is tricky. if the IRS decides you took too much, they'll audit. part of the reason i'm not officially working from home (i could, but choose not to).

 

taks

Edited March 6, 2007 by taks

[Enoch]

it seems the personal exemption went up to $3900 this year, but i could be wrong. i only gave turbotax a cursory glance when i filed this year (electronically). there's also a difference if you take the "standard deduction," which one would use if not itemizing, and is different still. i itemize due to the amount of mortgage interest i pay so i don't know that number.

I was going by Wikipedia, but just now I went back and looked at the paper form 1040 that's in my to-do pile, and it said $3,300.

[LadyCrimson]

deducting a part of your home for a home office is tricky. if the IRS decides you took too much, they'll audit. part of the reason i'm not officially working from home (i could, but choose not to).

We have an accountant who deals with most of it - and while hubby works largely for one company and goes to their offices at least a few times a week, he does a lot of work from home; his stuff takes up our whole living room. But yeah, gets tricky and you have to be cautious.

[taks]

nope, it is $3300... my total was $9900, which is where the 9 came from (three of us).

 

taks

[Gorgon]

We put a 25% sales tax on everything.

[Calax]

in Cali the taxes are primairly Property. At McD's and Gamestop we asses a sales tax (currently the rates are 7.75% in the area I work, it's 7.25% in the county I live...) and the only things that are taxes at the grocery store are Sodas and beers.

[LadyCrimson]

and the only things that are taxes at the grocery store are Sodas and beers.

Depends on the grocery store, and what you're buying.

[Oerwinde]

Clothes are tax free until you're like 14 or something like that in Canada.

 

And I think they tax clothing because of people like Paris Hilton who buy an outfit, wear it once, then throw it away.

[Guard Dog]

Clothes are tax free until you're like 14 or something like that in Canada.

 

And I think they tax clothing because of people like Paris Hilton who buy an outfit, wear it once, then throw it away.

 

 

No they tax clothing because the government (any government) needs money like a junkie needs heroin. They will tax anything they can until voters reign them in. That is happening in Florida right now over crippling property taxes.

[Walsingham]

My thinking was that clothes are obligatory under law. So is it fair to tax them?

[SteveThaiBinh]

Clothes are tax free until you're like 14 or something like that in Canada.

I believe it's the same in the UK. Children's clothes are zero-rated for VAT, and adult clothes have the regular 17.5%.

 

I think it's fair to tax essentials like clothes, but not punitively. We're fairly safe with clothing, as a tax on clothes that was perceived as unfair would impact on so many people, it would surely be electoral suicide for the government that introduced it.

 

I like the Illinois idea of 'high' and 'low' tax rates for VAT or sales tax. If you can trust the government to categorise things reasonably fairly as luxuries and non-luxuries, then it seems fair to me. Fairer than many taxes, at least.

 

Could a permanent naturist enclave be established where laws on clothes would be suspended?

[Enoch]

My thinking was that clothes are obligatory under law. So is it fair to tax them?

The problem with clothing is that it's tough to determine where the necessary purchasing ends and luxury purchasing begins. Governments certainly don't want to let the sartorially inclined purchase multiple designers suits imported from Milan without taxing them on the purchase. For sales taxes, it is very difficult (and ultimately counter-productive) to distinguish one purchase from another, so the legislature is left to decide whether the 'obligatory clothing' rationale outweighs the 'luxury purchase' rationale. (To my knowledge, most of them have decided that it does not.) For income taxes, the solution is to allow deductibility of clothing purchases up to a certain point. Since this is a deduction that would affect every taxpayer, it is folded in to the personal exemption to save on adminstration costs (i.e., so you don't have to keep clothing receipts to prove your purchases).

[astr0creep]

Here in the wonderfullest province of Quebec we have 2 taxes on everything. A federal tax and a provincial tax.

On everything.

 

The second tax is not taken out of the price of the product but rather on the product taxed with the first.

 

An apple costs 1 dollar.

Add the 7% Goods and services tax(federal)

The apple costs 1.07$

Add the 8% Quebec sales tax(provincial)

The apple costs 1.16$

 

Now imagine a car, medecine, clothing, etc.

 

I'm not sure if this still applies but we used to be the most taxed state in the world.

And healthcare ain't free. Everybody pays for it and we don't always have to pay to exit a hospital but it ain't free.

Income tax, once a year, is taken from our total revenues before taxes.

 

Let's say I make 100$/week. Out of my paycheck my governments take about 20% in taxes so I'm left with 80$/week.

At the end of the year, my governments will take another 20% out of my 100$/week, not 80$/week.

 

However, if my yearly income is below a certain amount(12k I think) I don't pay anything and I may get a tax return depending on what I need to spend on to live.

 

 

Meh

[Hurlshort]

Yep, US taxes really aren't too bad at all. There are a lot of trade offs. For example, I believe health care is completely free in Canada. It's a real nightmare in the US, but there are advantages. The US has some of the best medical facilities and doctors in the world because it's a system where the best get paid extremely well. When the government controls something like health care, it tends to cause mediocrity. There is no competition, no reason to strive for greatness, because it won't be rewarded.

[Weiser_Cain]

I ignore taxes