Financial Samurai

In celebration of tax time, I surveyed five of my married friends to answer two questions: 1) Did you pay more or less in taxes after you got married, and 2) How much more or less did you pay?  The answers I got were concerning.  They all responded they paid more and by a magnitude of $3,000 to $25,000!

It’s just not true that the “marriage penalty tax” no longer exists.  The IRS just renamed it the “love me long time tax.”

I’m by no means a personal income tax expert.  All I’m doing is highlighting facts from people around me, and proposing the likely reasons as to why their taxes went up.  Our income tax system is so darn confusing, hopefully someone can shed some light on the situation!

TWO QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT AND UNDERSTAND Read more…

Social Security Act FDR

The following is the second and last part of my interview with Charles Farrell, the author of “Your Money Ratios“.  We discuss the much maligned 401k, whether Social Security will survive, and crowd favorite, how raising personal income tax levels further will ruin America!

The 401K AND ALL ITS GLORY

Question: Why do you think there are so many detractors of the 401k plan? Furthermore, do you think it is fair that the pre-tax limit contribution is only $16,500 for some 22 as well as someone who is 45? Presumably, the average 45 year old is making much more than the average 22 year old, so how come the government doesn’t propose an increased pre-tax contribution scale the older one gets?

Answer: Many people don’t like 401(k) plans because they believe the burden of funding retirements should fall on employers and not employees; thus they would like to see us go back to defined benefit plans that are funded by employers. Well, that is just not going to happen. Employers have no appetite for guaranteeing to pay their workers for 30 or 40 years after they stop working for them. And DB plans are not flexible enough to accommodate a globally competitive marketplace, plus they discriminate against individuals who change jobs or careers. Moreover, many DB plans (particularly government plans) are significantly underfunded and many who thought they had guaranteed retirements may be unpleasantly surprised at some point. So I think the “romance” with DB plans is misguided, but many people would like to see those types of plans again. I just don’t think it’s going to happen.

Then there is another set of individuals who don’t like 401(k) plans because of the limited investment choices and sometimes high expense structure of the plans. I agree with people on this front, and there are problems with some 401(k) providers, particularly those smaller plans that can’t drive better deals on their investment platforms.

But, most plans do offer competitive options and are low cost. It’s important for readers not to lose sight of the primary reason to use a 401(k) plan, which is the huge tax benefit provided to those who contribute; and if you get a match, that is just makes it more attractive. The tax deduction, the match and the tax deferral on growth are incredibly valuable tools to help build your capital. So even with some restrictions, the plans are basically the best place to build your retirement assets.

Regulators Are The Problem! (401K Con’t) Read more…

The average tax refund is $2,400 a year, and 74% of Americans get a tax refund. I’ll consider you average for argument’s sake.  At today’s typical savings rate of 1%, you’re missing out on a whopping $12 bucks in interest income! Why $12, and not $24? It’s because you have to calculate the average balance of the year if you saved every $200/month payment diligently starting January 1st i.e. January $200, February $400, March $600 etc.

I’m definitely not a proponent of giving the government more money than they deserve, but missing out on $12 bucks in interest is something I can live with and so should you.

You have to ask yourself whether you have the discipline of saving that extra $200 a month, or using it to pay down debt. Most people are not disciplined enough to pay down debt and avoid buying junk. This is why we have such massive debt problems in the first place!  The government is essentially helping you “go broke to win big” by protecting 75% of American tax payers from blowing $2,400 a year without even knowing it.

A SIMPLE GUIDELINE & SOME COOKIES Read more…

If I read one more biased article pushing people to convert to a ROTH IRA I’m going to lose it!  Not to be melodramatic or anything, but the lack of unbiased analysis is like seeing a sea of zombies instructed to walk off a cliff. Wake up zombies, wake up!  Don’t make a decision without seeing what lies down below.

The ROTH IRA conversion idea is that those who have pre-tax funded retirement accounts such as a 401K or Traditional IRA pay taxes UPFRONT in 2010, so as to not pay taxes when you retire.  This is just absolute hogwash donkey dumb for a large majority of people out there.

Proponents of the ROTH IRA conversion argue:

1) Tax rates are low and are just going to go up in the future.

2) You will likely make more money in your retirement years, and hence pay more taxes.

3) Paying taxes now improves performance in the long run all else being equal.

THE SAMURAI REBUTTAL: Read more…

Publisher: The Penguin Group.  Hard cover. 257-pages. Price: $26.

Author: Charles Farrell, JD., LL.M., investment adviser with Northstar Investment Advisors, in Denver.  He writes the “Retirement Roadmap” column for CBS Moneywatch.

Review: “Your Money Ratios” sings to me!  For someone who loves using ratios such as the 1/10th rule for car buying, and 30/30/3 rule for home buying, I absolutely adore this book.  Charles’ writing style is very balanced and easy to understand.  When it comes to math, many people, including myself fall asleep.  But, if you can just do simple division and multiplcation, this book will keep you on the right path towards financial security.

Charles’ “Unifying Theory of Personal Finance” is his core philosophy that all decisions you make should help move you from being a laborer to being a capitalist.  In other words, make money work for you, and not the other way around.  It’s important that with every single monetary decision you make, you ask yourself will this help you become a capitalist or not.

Capital To Income Ratio Read more…

Cartoon by McPherson

FACT: The goal of local governments is to get every single penny in tax revenue from you! I got my property tax bill the other month, and to my absolute astonishment, the City is taxing my primary residence based off an assessed value $94,000 HIGHER than last year!  In the biggest economic downturn ever, the San Francisco assessors office believes my property actually increased?!  What a sham!

Like clock work, assessed values increase 2-3% higher every year, regardless of the economic environment.  It’s as if the City is punishing me for succeeding to lower my assessed value last year by 3%.  Too bad for the city, because they are messing with the WRONG person.  The tax collectors office counts on citizens to roll over and listen to their every whim, but not me, and certainly not you!

I want to share some tips on how you too can fight against the machine.

5 STEPS TO REDUCE YOUR PROPERTY TAX: Read more…

Fight Inequality Forever

Can someone please give us a rational argument why implementing a Flat Tax system in America is not fair?  We don’t know if we can continue posting without thoroughly understanding this issue first.  From a percentage basis, each person pays an equal amount of their income towards taxes, and from an absolute basis, richer people pay more!

Why don’t we just start taxing people according to height?  The shorter you are, the more you have to pay!  Brilliant idea, thanks.  Here’s a commentary from Money Bluebook that really got me thinking about the word “comrade” and the phrase “melt your pots for bullets.”

“Those of you rich folks in the top 35% tax bracket ($373,000 and higher) need to stop whining. You don’t get to whine. I hope this administration taxes the beejesus out of you all…it’s time you paid your fair share and get with the program. It’s only fair the wealthy pay more out of their millions and billions of dollars to subsidize the rest of us who need it the most. We are struggling in this recession and it’s time to fix the problem – by taxing the rich!”

Gee whiz, last I checked, we live in America not North Korea.  Why people believe it’s fair to tax one class of citizen a higher percentage than another confuses us.  Is this not a pure form of discrimination?  Fine, let’s agree that anybody below the poverty line of $25,000 for a family of four ($10,000 for a single person) are exempt from all income taxation. Read more…

One Big Family

Someone once said, “nothing is certain except pressing the reply all button by mistake and taxes.” How true the saying as we face rising taxes under the new administration.  Supposedly 32% of Americans filers pay ZERO TAXES!  I doubt this statistic sits well with the other 68% of files who pay taxes.   I also doubt the percentage of non-tax payers could be that high, but either way, even 15% is a lot.  The good thing for high income earnings is that the highest marginal tax rate has come down by almost half  since the 70’s.  Furthermore, generally if you are paying no taxes, your adjusted gross income is less than $8,350 as a single, or $16,700 as a married couple.   Wouldn’t you rather make more money and pay taxes than make little money and pay nothing?

Given we don’t blog for a living, and several readers asked me this afternoon “whether I think higher taxes lead to Socialism in America, Yes or No only”, my answer and thesis is therefore: “Yes, higher taxes do lead to socialism in America.” Read more…

In Sarah’s first online post since quitting her job as Governor of Alaska, she writes that Obama’s Healthcare Plan is “Evil” because of its support for euthanasia. Obama later explains, “Nobody is going to be forcing you to make a set of decisions on end-of-life care based on some bureaucratic law in Washington.” What’s interesting to note is how this story has garnered so much more attention rather than the costs and implementation of Obama’s healthcare plan. I have admittedly not paid attention to this debate, but feel I should. In this post, I attempt to provide a brief understanding of this controversial topic, along with various viewpoints.

THE SKINNY ON UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE:

WHAT IS IT?
* Universal health care is also known as single-payer system, united health care system, or national health care. Universal health care is similar to the current US Medicaid program for low-income folks, and would apply to all citizens of the US regardless of the ability to pay.

WHY HAVE IT?
* Supposedly 50 million or so Americans, or almost 20% of the country’s population is without healthcare. People will argue that it should be the right of every American to have coverage, just like the Canadians and the British.

ADVANTAGES
* With a single Universal Healthcare system, Americans will save money because the new system will slash billions of dollars in administrative costs. Furthermore, 50 million people will have coverage.

DISADVANTAGES
* To provide 50 million more people with free healthcare, someone has got to pay for it. Some don’t believe big government will be able to run the new system as efficiently as the private sector.

With this quick understanding, here are various opinions from real people I’d like to share with you.

Read more…

With California heading towards the abyss, and taxes rocketing to the moon, I’ve toyed with the idea of leaving the state. Here’s an
article in the San Francisco Chronicle highlighting homeless 24 year olds and rising unemployment even in a rich suburb such as Marin County.

From this other article, we learn that from the first stimulus package alone, the gov’t has borrowed $10,000 from each individual so far, and it is doubtful that the majority of people have felt a return on their $10,000 loan yet.  At any rate, it’s clear that taxes are going up in California and perhaps NYC, and we residents in troubled states should think long and hard about whether to stay or go.

Did you know that seven states have no state income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming? Two others, New Hampshire and Tennessee, tax only dividend and interest income. Alaskan residents even get an annual oil credit for goodness sakes.

If you’re earning $100,000 a year, you’ll automatically save $10,000 bucks just by setting up shop in another state. Multiply this by 20 years, and bake in a 4% annual return, you’ll come out with $310,000 more in the bank! Even 10 years provides you with about $125,000. Hey, who wouldn’t want an extra $125,000 laying around. I could finally buy that Porsche 911 Turbo I’ve always wanted! Must resist temptation.

Obviously relocating is easier said than done. Hence, another strategy should be to simply set up residency in one of the 7 states after one retires. This is one of the key benefits of retiring early. Amass the nut, and save 10%/annum on your interest income every year for the rest of your life. Setting up residency is easy. Just buy a place, or rent some cheap studio… maybe even a habitable closet and call it home. The more money you make, the more you should consider moving.

Seattle, Incline Village in Lake Tahoe would be my top two choices. I’ll just get in trouble in Vegas!

Keigu,

Financial Samurai – “Slicing Through Money’s Mysteries”

Twitter @FinancialSamurai and sign up for our RSS Feed.