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Showing posts from April, 2014

Corporate Tax breaks

"Tax break" is a fuzzy term, with no objective definition. Personal tax example: My taxable wages already exclude some actual wages: my deposits to a "Health care Flex account"; the amount I put into my company's 401-K savings plan; the money my company pays directly to a health-insurance company on my behalf. The government is saying that if I spend my money a certain way, they will tax me less. Already, on the top line of my tax form, I've got three "tax breaks". Continuing on, interest from municipal bonds is exempt from federal income tax. My dividends are taxed a bit lower. My investment income is broken into two parts: short-term gains and long-term gains, and I get a "tax-break" on the long-term gains. The interest I pay on my mortgage and on student loans gets  me a deduction. Supporting a child gets me another deduction. My charitable donations earn me a deduction. Once again, the government is encouraging me to spend in certai...