Thankyou to the US goverment- "I am going to Disney World"

[capecodhome]

I am hoping with the extra tax money the goverment is giving to us to put back in the economy, I will put money down for a vacation in 2009 :sohappy:.

 

[Master Yoda]

Quite honestly I wish our government would take the $200 billion this rebate will cost and put it toward oil independence and alternate fuels. You want a stimulus to the economy....75 cents for a gallon of gas and no need to import oil would go considerably farther than some mad money.

 

[Mikester71]

I have always heard this argument and while it works great on paper it just does no work with the average person. Most people simply do not have the discipline to simply let money sit in an account that they have easy access to. They take out $20 here $50 there and by the time the end of the year hits they have spent 10 times the amount of interest they would have earned. If you are the type of person that can leave the money alone then by all means it is the way to go but if you are not the lost interest is a good trade off for not being able to spend the money on useless stuff and get one check at the end of the year that can make a difference in paying down debt or a major purchase.

Actually, that is what my wife's work has. It is called a Christmas savings fund and you get so much deducted from each pay. You can take it out, penalty free, in October and we usually use it for our Christmas shopping. Except for years when we want to go to Disney of course. For the most part, we are pretty good at not touching it. We just took some out today to go put towards our next vacation in March 2009. We booked our rooms at Pop today.:sohappy::sohappy::sohappy:

 

[SpongeScott]

Quite honestly I wish our government would take the $200 billion this rebate will cost and put it toward oil independence and alternate fuels. You want a stimulus to the economy....75 cents for a gallon of gas and no need to import oil would go considerably farther than some mad money.

But the average American isn't that far-sighted; they want or like an instant fix. Remember, it's an election year, so Congress is trying to look good by putting money back in your pocket. You might see through it or see a different option, but Joe Schmoe living with his wife and two kids in suburbia thinks this is fantastic. I agree with you Rich, but I'll still take my rebate check and do something nice (like take my wife to Disneyland for our 25th).

 

[MichWolv]

I haven't read all the particulars in this thread but I've noticed since the passing of this thing it's being referred to as the 'Rebate Program'. Sounds a lot like an advance of next year's refund money. Like last time. We're still working on our taxes for this year but it looks like we'll be owing. I don't want a check that applies to next year. I'll have to pay it back and then some. :shrug: No, thank you. I'd like to tell them where to stick their check, too. :fork:

Wait until we see exactly what passed (I haven't had a chance to look). Last time around, the "rebate" was actually an "advance" on the next tax refund. It is possible that this one is actually a retroactive change in the amount of tax you owe for 2007. I'll look this up and post later today if I can figure it out.

 

[Master Yoda]

But the average American isn't that far-sighted; they want or like an instant fix. Remember, it's an election year, so Congress is trying to look good by putting money back in your pocket. You might see through it or see a different option, but Joe Schmoe living with his wife and two kids in suburbia thinks this is fantastic. I agree with you Rich, but I'll still take my rebate check and do something nice (like take my wife to Disneyland for our 25th).

Oh I agree. We have become a want it right no society so all we look for is that quick fix. We simply do not have the patience for a long term solution. This stimulus package is just that...a quick fix. You see the same thing in so many facets of our lives. Instead of figuring out and solving the reasons we get heartburn we just take a pill that shuts off the acid production in your stomachs. Instead of fixing our worn out joints we take a pill that shuts off the pain receptors in our bodies. Our solution for immigration...put up a bigger fence. The list goes on and on.

 

[wannab@dis]

Quite honestly I wish our government would take the $200 billion this rebate will cost and put it toward oil independence and alternate fuels. You want a stimulus to the economy....75 cents for a gallon of gas and no need to import oil would go considerably farther than some mad money.

Sure, that sounds good in the long run. But this is for a short term stimulus to inject dollars into the lowest point of the economy. What you suggest is fine, but it will cost much more than $200B and would take years to actually be of any consequence. However, putting dollars into the economy by having consumers spend will make a difference.

 

[MichWolv]

Wait until we see exactly what passed (I haven't had a chance to look). Last time around, the "rebate" was actually an "advance" on the next tax refund. It is possible that this one is actually a retroactive change in the amount of tax you owe for 2007. I'll look this up and post later today if I can figure it out.

Ok, I looked. Here's the way it works. Every taxpayer gets a credit agains their 2008 taxes of the lesser of $600 or their total tax liability, with a floor of $300 (so you get $300 even if you pay nothing).

What that means is that if you would have, without this bill, had a tax liability of $10,000, for example, you will now have a tax liability for 2008 of $9,400. However, you will receive the $600 difference in June or so, rather than waiting for the tax return to be filled out a year from now, or so. On a net basis, then, you will pay less in 2008 taxes because of this, but when you fill out your return, there won't be a substantive difference, because you'll have received a check for the credit already.

I'm not sure what they'll do with those who earn over the limit. It's not clear to me if those folks who earned over the limit in 2007 will simply not get a check, and then will claim the credit on their 2008 return if they earn under the limit for 2008, or if everybody will get a check, and those who earn too much in 2008 will adjust for the check on their return.

 

[Master Yoda]

Ok, I looked. Here's the way it works. Every taxpayer gets a credit agains their 2008 taxes of the lesser of $600 or their total tax liability, with a floor of $300 (so you get $300 even if you pay nothing).

What that means is that if you would have, without this bill, had a tax liability of $10,000, for example, you will now have a tax liability for 2008 of $9,400. However, you will receive the $600 difference in June or so, rather than waiting for the tax return to be filled out a year from now, or so. On a net basis, then, you will pay less in 2008 taxes because of this, but when you fill out your return, there won't be a substantive difference, because you'll have received a check for the credit already.

I'm not sure what they'll do with those who earn over the limit. It's not clear to me if those folks who earned over the limit in 2007 will simply not get a check, and then will claim the credit on their 2008 return if they earn under the limit for 2008, or if everybody will get a check, and those who earn too much in 2008 will adjust for the check on their return.

Is it still the $600 individual/$1200 couple and $300 per kid package or have those numbers changed as well?

 

[MichWolv]

Sure, that sounds good in the long run. But this is for a short term stimulus to inject dollars into the lowest point of the economy. What you suggest is fine, but it will cost much more than $200B and would take years to actually be of any consequence. However, putting dollars into the economy by having consumers spend will make a difference.

Anything will "make a difference". I believe the costs of this thing far outweigh the benefits.

At least I'll get to refinance my mortgage to a lower rate, because the package also includes an increase is the so-called conforming loan maximum. The result is that some mortgages that would have been in the "jumbo" category will now be in the "conforming" category, which leads to lower rates because of the ability of the lender to use Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac funding facilities (and the implicit government guarantee) much more easily. My mortgage happens to fall in the right range, so I'll get to refinance out of a jumbo into a conforming loan.

Much like some people's thoughts on fastpass, I may not like this law, but if it's going to be there, I'll get what benefit out of it that I can.

 

[MichWolv]

Is it still the $600 individual/$1200 couple and $300 per kid package or have those numbers changed as well?

Yes. Each taxpayer gets a max of $600 and a minimum of $300. Each child qualfies the parent(s) for an additional $300 on top of that.

 

[Master Yoda]

Yes. Each taxpayer gets a max of $600 and a minimum of $300. Each child qualfies the parent(s) for an additional $300 on top of that.

So with me the wife and 3 rug rats we should be getting a $2100 check. Not to bad. It should pad the savings account quite nicely.

 

[MichWolv]

So with me the wife and 3 rug rats we should be getting a $2100 check. Not to bad. It should pad the savings account quite nicely.

Yep. As long as you're under the income limitation. Your credit is reduced by 5 percent of adjusted gross income in excess of $150K for joint returns.

 

[Master Yoda]

Yep. As long as you're under the income limitation. Your credit is reduced by 5 percent of adjusted gross income in excess of $150K for joint returns.

Yep we are under that. Hopefully that will change in a year or two.

 

[TestTrack]

Well my local news said today that this would just be a advanced refund for next year...so take this outta whatever you expect to get.

I'll sock it away and earn some interest at least. Really doesn't encourage people to SPEND it if they need to basically "pay it back".

 

[Tim G]

Oh I agree. We have become a want it right no society so all we look for is that quick fix. We simply do not have the patience for a long term solution. This stimulus package is just that...a quick fix. You see the same thing in so many facets of our lives. Instead of figuring out and solving the reasons we get heartburn we just take a pill that shuts off the acid production in your stomachs. Instead of fixing our worn out joints we take a pill that shuts off the pain receptors in our bodies. Our solution for immigration...put up a bigger fence. The list goes on and on.

I couldn't have said it any better...

 

[MomofKatie]

It's not "free" money- it's just an advance on next year's refund (if any). So this time next year, you could end up OWING $$ to the IRS. Better put it in a savings account rather than spend that cash.

 

[MrBug]

Better put it in a savings account rather than spend that cash.

Nooooooooooooo........ Spend it. Don't blow it, but spend it. Buy something you need from a local merchant that you know. That'll be (for once, maybe) putting your tax dollars to work to benefit at least 2 people you know.

 

[miles1]

I wish I had the option of spending or saving it. Unfortunately, I owe back taxes from a few years ago that I am paying on a payment plan. I assume the IRS will confiscate the rebate and apply it to my outstanding balance. At least its going to reduce my debt.

As far as a trip goes, yes, we are most likely going. We won a week at a vacation home at a fund raiser auction last fall, so our accomodations are already paid for. However, with the economy affecting my pay considerably this year, it will be on a much tighter budget this year. Look out McDonalds, here we come.:lol:

 

[MichWolv]

Well my local news said today that this would just be a advanced refund for next year...so take this outta whatever you expect to get.

I'll sock it away and earn some interest at least. Really doesn't encourage people to SPEND it if they need to basically "pay it back".

This time I'm confident of how it'll work. I'll lay it out, and you can decide whether you are "paying it back".

Assume you are a single taxpayer who earns $50,000 per year, who would have a tax liability of $12,000 before the stimulus package, and you had $13,000 in withholdings from your paycheck. Without the stimulus package, you'd get a $1,000 refund ($13,000 withheld - $12,000 liability) when you file your 2008 tax return.

This package will lower your tax liability for 2008 by $600 to $11,400. However, instead of simply giving you a bigger refund of $1,600 when you file your return ($13,000 withheld - $11,400 liability), the government will send you the additional $600 in June (or thereabouts). So when you file your 2008 return, you'll get the same $1,000 refund you would have gotten without the package ($13,000 withheld - $11,400 liability - $600 advance refund already received).

So, you will end up $600 ahead, and the government will end up $100 billion behind.

 

[kucarachi]

That 600 bucks George W is handing out wont even cover the tips on the new dining plan!