Another Rant About Taxes

I looked into the GOP tax plan and whether or not it would increase my taxes. Using a couple of different online calculators, it appears that my 2018 taxes may in fact decrease by between $100-400 depending upon whom you ask. However, this exercise reminded me quite alarmingly that I will owe the IRS around $6700 for 2017 and I've only managed to pay like $1300 in estimated tax thus far and the year is nearly over. In addition, my yearly property tax on this sinkhole-ridden property is around $2500, of which I still owe about $625 for the 4th quarter.  

So between federal income tax, "self-employment tax" (i.e., "independent contractor" = "de facto employee w/o benefits forced to pay the employer's share of SS tax") and property tax, I will owe the government approximately 32% of my income. That does not include our 7% local sales tax. I don't know where the $$ is supposed to come from. Despite a lifelong yoga practice I never did master the "pulling $$ out of your ass-ana." I am seriously fucked. If I can't pay either one of those (IRS or County) they will take my house.

For those who have seen fit to scold me for complaining, pointing out that I am "rich" compared to most people in the world, yes it's all relative. However, it doesn't do me a helluva lot of good to be "rich" compared to people in third-world countries if I must live in continual fear of homelessness because I can't pay my bills and taxes working full-time, with a Master's degree, in one of the wealthiest countries on earth.

I live a simple lifestyle. I don't buy new clothes or shoes. I don't go out. I don't take any vacations. I grow a lot of my own veggies and eat a mostly vegetarian diet. I have the bare minimum t.v. (DISH w/ limited channels, around $29/month). I do not own a smartphone, a Kindle, iPad, tablet, or any other fancy equipment. My vehicles are 13 and 34 years old and worth so little that the judge at the bankruptcy hearing didn't even want them, and one of them is currently nonfunctional.  My only "luxury" is wine, without which the situation would be essentially unbearable.  

I will probably never be able to retire because every penny I manage to save goes to taxes, including my "self-employed" Social Security tax.  Speaking of which, I have been paying into the system since my first job at age 17, and double since (involuntarily) becoming an "independent contractor" in 2001.  My SSDI was denied when I needed it.  Now, Congress is planning to cut Social Security benefits by around 1/3 even though we must continue to pay the full amount.  Never mind that SS is only taxed on income below about $118,000, placing a disproportionate burden on the lower middle class, especially the "self-employed."

No, this is not a "poor me pity party," because I am pretty sure that I am not the only American in this situation! But both conservatives and liberals seem to want to slap me down (for different reasons) when I speak up about it. Taxes are a Sacred Cow that must never be questioned! I am supposed to be happy about forking over nearly 1/3 of my meager income to the government to "help the poor," according to liberals, even though I only recently clawed my way up out of poverty myself, am supporting my disabled husband, and don't have enough leftover to live on.  And conservatives tell me I need to shut up and work more hours.  I guess they are right because I don't have any other alternative if I don't want to be homeless.

Meanwhile the rich complain about the poor being on "welfare" and not paying enough taxes.  The rich don't know what it is like to worry about how they are going to pay their electric bill or mortgage, or decide on a monthly basis whether to rob Peter to pay Paul, or vice versa.  They don't know the feeling of being one paycheck away from disaster.  The GOP tax plan will give the rich a nice big break.  And they don't object to corporate welfare because the Job Creators need that big tax break in order to create more low-paying jobs.  Or not.  The money might just go into their offshore bank account.  Because they can get away with it.