Cumulative burden of taxes

[Bullshot]

Finished filing and then I made a mistake today and added up all the taxes (Federal/State/Local) we paid in 2025. It was eye opening and eye watering. It virtually eliminated the point of my wife working, and cost us twice as much in a year as it is costing to pay a year of our daughters private college tuition. We live in a very high cost state. Between the two of us (she is a teacher, I work in the environmental / land use field (traditionally not the highest paying jobs compared to all the ppl in finance, pharma, law, and medicine around here) we are "fortunate" to make enough money to not qualify for virtually any govt tax break, federal tuition assistance, or subsidy of any kind, but the joke's on us. Makes us feel we'd be better off losing one of our jobs to put us back in a more advantageous bracket. I am so discouraged, but it explains so much about why it seems we work so hard but only feel we are falling a little further behind each year. Just venting. Wow. Happy tax filing week to all.

 

[Bluffgruff]

The tax burden in our country is born by high earners, not the truly wealthy. The people who get the worst of it are just over the margin of "enough."

 

[cgasner1]

We had the conversation when kids started if it penciled out to keep my wife working for this reason. Decided since she has a career that would be hard for her to go back to and not a job to ride it out. Crazy between taxes and daycare you can be financially ahead by not working

 

[redhaze]

What makes me shed more dandruff is the property tax system in TX. We can never own our home free and clear and they tax us on their perceived value that goes up each year - we bought the house at XX dollars and pay taxes on the increased value each year without it generating any income - but the "Gov" is working on it....

 

[ccc23454]

The federal numbers are what they are and can be manipulated only so much, the state and localities are when things can drastically vary especially as compared to quality of services received for those same dollars. Having been down this road its far more complex than a thread post but it's part of why I live where I do. Everyday there are more stories about exodus of population from certain states for this reason, often unfortunately that's your only card to truly play. Good luck

 

[tillicant]

Ran a business for 45 years. Did most of my own accounting with the exception of year end as well as consultation with our cpa whenever we had questions. We were taxed, it seems like, for everything we did from income, sales, and highway use taxes. Then we had the Personal Property Tax, which never made sense to me. You buy a piece of equipment, pay taxes when purchased, then our local jurisdiction would assess tax on that same piece. (this tax was finally suspended) Due to depreciation on the equipment purchased we were able to minimize our year end liabilities, but it was only because we spent a lot on assets.
Then, after paying taxes when we purchased our equipment, taxes on money earned with that equipment, taxes (sales) on general maintenance items and parts used in the lifespan of that equipment we were assessed a Capital Gains Tax when we decided to sell the equipment. I figured that was a penalty for taking care of it. Sorry for the rant,