Comments on: Marginal Taxes and 2010 Federal Income Tax Brackets

By: fredct

fredct — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 13:26:01 +0000

Well you need an overall retirement plan, but the easiest answer is probably leave it where it is, and just make sure it’s in a reasonable mix. You are to be congratulated for saving that much. A simple rule of thumb is you can withdraw 4% of your assets with a good chance that they will last in perpetuity. So that gives you $32K of income per year from that account. Not sure what other accounts or other sources of income (pension, SS) you have available.

By: Don Devaney

Don Devaney — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 09:06:02 +0000

What do I do with my TSP money when I retire next year? (about $8OOK)

By: Rahul

Rahul — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:42:40 +0000

Get some perspective folks !
When you look around in the world and see how easy we have it in USA — and I don’t just mean lower tax rates — a great majority of us would stop whining !

By: fredct

fredct — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:46:26 +0000

“That would be fine if that money were being used efficiently. The reality is that the balance of your 400K is just being squandard.”

John, defined squandered? In what way? Where is it going? Just being used for something you don’t like? Being used for something poorly? What projects? What would you cut?

Or is it just ideology? Do you just have a generally ‘feeling’ that you know to be true without any facts or definitions?

By: fredct

fredct — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:43:37 +0000

If you continue to increase your living standard dollar-for-dollar with your income, then you have no one but yourself to blame. Its called living below your means and not doing so is foolhardy.

If your values change such that money and keeping-up-with-the-jones’ is more important to you than financial security, then there’s no reason the federal government should indulge you in that.

By: John

John — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:39:18 +0000

That would be fine if that money were being used efficiently. The reality is that the balance of your 400K is just being squandard. It is not even needed by the Fed, just the big spenders on the hill. And the government will not control or cut their spending. They will just come after more of your money. For you to keep that 400K and invest it accordingly makes you independent. No need for the Big Gubament. But the question is FRED, can you survive without Big Guberment taking care of you. Be careful – you will have no one to blame but yourself if you fail.

By: John

John — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:31:31 +0000

Ronnie, I use to say the some things when I was making very little money. I remember being in the Army in the early 80s, making about 18,000 a year and saying if I could just make 40,000 I could make due. The fact is that with more earnings comes an increased lifestyle for you and your family. In addition, to make that kind of money requires a lot of hard work, valuable time and physical stresses of daily life. When you see what it takes to make that kind of money and how easily people will vote their own interests to take it from you and villify you in doing so, that $120000 will become more important to you. Making due will not be so fine then. Your hard work and accomplishments will become of so much valuable to you.

By: fredct

fredct — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:53:26 +0000

> I wonder why forbes excludes Singapore or Hong Kong with their 20%, and
> 15% flat tax structures.

I don’t know. Good question. Although I’d be interested what their *total tax burden* is. For instance, Singapore has a 7% Value-Added-Tax as well.

Here’s another more-inclusive chart, although I don’t know their methods:
http://www.photius.com/rankings/tax_burden_country_ranks_2009.html

According to that, Singapore does have a lower tax burden than the US by about 8%, but that’s not a gigantic difference. And of course they don’t have nearly the military technology or military presence that the US does.

Hong Kong’s tax rate is indeed very low (about half the US’s). I’d be interested to find out more about that, but my google searches have been inconclusive. Hong Kong of course hasn’t been an independent country in over a decade, so I have to wonder if its really an apples-to-apples comparison or not.

> I really hope you do make $400k+ one day.

So do I! And if I do, I’ll be more than accepting of the taxes paid to live in this country. I’ll live well below my means and it won’t be an issue.

Heck, sometimes I feel that to own a nice home in the greater NYC area, you need to make that much!