President Biden’s proposed tax increases should not be a surprise to anyone.
What appears to be rolling out is identical to what Biden indicated during his Presidential Campaign.
The question is; does increasing capital gains tax for people who earn over $1 Million in a given year from 23.8% to 43.4% make sense?
I was very disappointed to hear a commentator on CNBC say, “well they can afford it”. One of several reasons someone becomes wealthy is they don’t spend, just because they can afford it.
If you combine the increased 43.4% with the 2nd highest tax rate in New Jersey, the total tax rate jumps to over 52%. That is a big fat WOW!
I am definitely for EVERYONE paying their “fair” share of taxes to run our country.
The obvious question is, what is fair?
Taxes in totality need to be considered, not piecemeal. Capital Gains T
ax, Corporate Income Tax, Personal Income Tax, State Income Tax, State Sales Tax, Real Estate Tax, Road Tax, Gas Tax. Too many to list.
Perhaps we should simply start over!!!
This week we are expecting to hear Part 2 of President Biden’s plan that will increase income taxes on anyone earning over $400,000 to the highest bracket of 39.6%. Is the $400,000 “Joint” income or will it be “Single”? If you’re on the cusp and pushed higher, your income taxes will increase by over 7%. If you’re a small business owner, there goes that new hire!!
As I’ve said to most clients, I am in favor of raising revenue via taxation. However, I believe we first must take care of the obligations we’ve already promised, such as Social Security, Medicare, our current debt and more. Prior to spending on additional initiatives!!
Markets and Corporate Profits
Last week witnessed a mixed market, mostly lower with the Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq and Foreign Stocks down less than (.50%). Small Caps and Emerging Market stocks gained just under .50%,
Bond yields are holding tight with the 10 Year Treasury Yield closing Friday @ 1.56%. The Fed is certainly being successful so far at keeping government bond rates at bay!
We are smack in the middle of 1st Quarter 2021 Corporate Profit reports. The 1st Quarter of 2021 is compared to the 1st Quarter of 2020 and expecting be up in a large way. Keep in mind during the 1st Quarter of 2020, we were “normal” until the Covid hit in mid-March. Reports so far, have been excellent.
This week we’ll hear from big tech that includes Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook and Alphabet. Tesla also releases results this week.
Profits for the next few quarters should be up significantly, as they’re compared to the same quarters respectively from last year, when Covid closed much of our economy.
Identity Theft Webinar
A quick thank you for all who attended our ID Theft/Cyber Crime Webinar last week. I received a significant amount of positive feedback!
For your information, I did download and pay for the app, “RoboKiller.” The app was listed on one the handouts from the webinar. I am constantly haunted by Robo-Callers. It was amazing, all crank calls stopped immediately after the app was installed. You have total control of the functionality and it also works great for text message solicitations that are linked to ID Theft.
