A lot of them are willing to let Trump rob them into total destitution so long as he promises to do the same to all the minorities they hate.

It’s part of the scam, man. “If we make the poor hate taxes as much as the rich, then they HAVE to be pro-Republican”. Newt Gingrich was saying that for years.

Punishing people has been a higher priority for Republicans than helping them for a couple decades now.

I'm below the federal poverty line and I owed almost $800 last year because I made around $1900 as a contractor, and anything you make as a contractor is taxed really aggressively, on top of the 10% or so "self employment tax."

I got a return on my regular 1040 but it was a couple hundred less than I owed on my 1099.

I made around $25,000 from freelance work in 2013 (best year I've had) plus another $13k or so in part time work as a regular employee and I actually owed about the same amount on that $25k as I owed on last year's $1900.

I thought I'd fucked up last year because the rate was so much higher than its ever been but I had it looked over and nope, that's just how taxes work now if you're poor and self-employed.

Anyway, most years for the last 10-15 my1040 refund has gone back into covering the taxes I owe for my 1099, but 2017's returns were the first time I've ever gotten back less than I owed. (barring a couple years when I was 100% freelance and one year where I was paying tax in two states)

Yeah, if you're working for yourself and not for the benefit of some huge company, the tax code bitchslaps you for it. This didn't originate with Trump but he has made it worse.

Obviously, the self-employed weren't able to reap the benefits of that little paycheck bump that wage earners received last year.

Er, not standard deduction. I can't claim an exemption, is what I meant.

5 digit increase? As in $10000+?

... ... ...how?

I have very high property tax, and high state and local income taxes, those deductions were enormous, keeping me in a lower bracket. People who are actually legit rich are magically becoming residences of other states because they can afford to do that kind of shit.

I'm gonna guess you're in NJ. Property taxes are beyond parody in that state.

It's worth it to build that wall though, right?

as a blue-state 'elite' I'm totally dead on the target they were aiming for, but if this splash damage stick to even a small percentage of these whiners to get them to stay home or vote differently, I'll at least have that small, cold satisfaction.

They also got rid of the state tax deduction to fuck over the blue states and to help cover cost of keeping the corporate tax cut forever

I think there's a bit of a miscalculation in assuming that blue states = high state income taxes. Most of the coastal states have a very high top rate that mostly impacts the upper classes. If you're more middle income, you don't want to be in the midwest and interior west states, who don't have the high top rates but do have a top rate that impacts most of the population.

I've lived in WA, PA, NJ, NE...Nebraska has by far the highest state income tax for me out of these.