CLE Presentation by Shamsey Oloko
OF SALT, TAXES & MORTGAGES…
OF SALT, TAXES AND MORTGAGES…
Do you pay State and Local Taxes (SALT)? If you live in any of New York, California, New Jersey, Connecticut, or any other of the so-called high-tax states, you likely pay more than the national average in SALT. Prior to 2018, you were allowed to itemize all of your SALT payments on your federal tax returns. However, the recently passed law, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, curbs the deductibility and otherwise affects you disproportionately, compared with the rest of the country. The changes to the deduction of State and Local Taxes (SALT) on federal tax returns are generally as follows
AN ANALYSIS OF THE TAX CUTS AND JOBS ACT
January 2018
AN ANALYSIS OF THE TAX CUTS AND JOBS ACT
On December 22, 2017, after much, well-publicized legislative skirmishes, President Donald Trump signed into law H.R. 1, otherwise known as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.” Provisions affecting individuals are generally effective beginning December 31, 2017 and expire on December 31, 2025. Most business-related provisions are permanent and are effective beginning December 31, 2017.
This new law is, by all accounts, the most significant revisions to the U.S. tax code since 1986, affecting almost all individual and business taxpayers. Our firm’s general assessment of the new law will therefore be a two-part series: this first part covers changes to individual taxpayers, and the second part will cover changes to business taxpayers.
State Individual Tax Climate: Connecticut
The Tax Foundation recently conducted a study of the tax climates in each of the fifty states and then rated and ranked them based on five categories: corporate tax, individual income, sales tax, unemployment insurance tax, and property tax. The Tax Foundation’s rankings are designed to show how well state tax systems are structured, rather than simply rank the states by the amount of taxes assessed.
Connecticut finished 43rd in overall tax climate and it ranked in the individual tax categories as follows: 32 (corporate tax), 37 (individual income tax), 27 (sales tax), 21 (unemployment insurance tax), and 49 (property tax).
State Individual Tax Climate: New Jersey
The Tax Foundation recently conducted a a study of the tax climates in each of the fifty states and then rated and ranked them based on five categories: corporate tax, individual income, sales tax, unemployment insurance tax, and property tax. The Tax Foundation’s rankings are designed to show how well state tax systems are structured, rather than simply rank the states by the amount of taxes assessed.
New Jersey finished dead last in overall tax climate and it ranked in the individual tax categories as follows: 42 (corporate tax), 48 (individual income tax), 45 (sales tax), 25 (unemployment insurance tax), and 50 (property tax).
State Individual Tax Climate: New York
The Tax Foundation recently conducted a study of the tax climates in each of the fifty states and then rated and ranked them based on five categories: corporate tax, individual income, sales tax, unemployment insurance tax, and property tax. The Tax Foundation’s rankings are designed to show how well state tax systems are structured, rather than simply rank the states by the amount of taxes assessed.
New York finished 2nd last (49) in overall tax climate and it ranked in the individual tax categories as follows: 7 (corporate tax), 49 (individual income tax), 43 (sales tax), 32 (unemployment insurance tax), and 47 (property tax).
Which State Has The Best Tax Climate?
The Tax Foundation is an independent tax policy nonprofit organization that has studied and researched tax policy since 1937. It reviewed the 2017 tax climates in each of the fifty states and ranked them overall based on five categories: corporate tax, individual income, sales tax, unemployment insurance tax, and property tax. In the near future, we will address the state tax climates of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
The purpose of the Tax Foundation State Business Tax Climate Index is to enable business owners, policymakers, and taxpayers evaluate how their states’ tax systems compare to others. The Tax Foundation’s rankings are designed to show how well state tax systems are structured, rather than simply rank the states by the amount of taxes assessed.
Most Confusing Parts Of The Income Tax Code, Part 2: Alternative Minimum Tax
Many provisions of the Internal Revenue Code are complicated. Proper interpretation of the rules and regulations contained in these provisions requires the assistance of an experienced and knowledgeable tax professional. The second part of our series about the most confusing provisions of the Internal Revenue Code addresses everyone’s favorite, the alternative minimum tax.
Why Is It Confusing?
- The AMT doesn’t seem to achieve its purpose
- Taxpayers have to compute two taxes
- The computation of the AMT itself is enormously long and complicated
New York State Property Tax Cap Will Be Under 1 percent In 2017
In July of 2016, New York Comptroller Tom DiNapoli announced that local governments in New York State may only raise their property-tax levies by no more than 0.67 percent unless they vote to override the state’s cap. This is a slight decrease from 2016. Currently, the cap for local government in the state of New York is 0.73 percent this year, and thus will remain below 1 percent again in 2017.
Some Things To Know About New York State Tax
It’s not news that most people complain about having to pay taxes. New Yorkers seem to especially complain about their state and local tax burden. The Tax Foundation, with a database that currently covers the years 1977-2012, interprets the tax burden of individual taxpayers by measuring what they actually spend in local and state taxes. Its. According to its rankings of states with the highest state and local tax burdens, Americans paid an average rate of 9.9 percent in state and local taxes in 2012. Further, the state with the highest state-local tax burden was New York at 12.7 %. In fact, the top three states – New York, New Jersey and Connecticut – have been ranked as the top three in this category since 2005. Not surprisingly, New York’s tax laws are relatively complex compared to other U.S. states. Here are some things to know about taxes in the Empire State.