Honest question Cowboy, did you take the 100% bonus depreciation tax write-off when you bought that truck?????? Or did you fully refuse that govt tax handout and stimulus and tell your tax guy that you didnt want it included on your tax return?
There's a difference in a write off that just doesn't come out of your pocket and taking money that comes out of someone else's.
No there's not. It's still, according to govt tax regs, the govts money and owed to the govt. That tax break is not really any different than when the govt decided to waste already collected or recently printed money on welfare, subsidies, war, or give it to an NGO or foreign country. The govt said, if you want to buy a new truck and give your money to, GMC in this case, we will reduce your taxable income (that you earned and do owe taxes to the govt on) and we will allow you to deduct the entire cost of that truck (at your highest marginal tax rate) from the money that you owe and are supposed to pay the govt this year. It's all money coming out of the same pot. In this case, the govt is just giving that money back to you by reducing your tax payment, instead of collecting it first and refunding it back to you. You got the money, it just did not come in the form of a check or payment. The money that you did not pay and got to keep, was the government's uncollected tax money, and by accepting the deduction and not paying that money to the govt, you accepted a govt subsidy payment. See how it works? In order for the govt to grant that tax break for buying the truck, the govt had to get that money elsewhere or make up the uncollected difference, which means they printed it or took if from monies someone else paid in. Ain't nothing free in this world. It's really all one and the same and the money is coming out of Uncle Sam's pocket either way.
Seems like a pretty significant difference to me....
1. Instance 1, you want to pay as little as legally possible in taxes. You have a legitimate business expense, which can be used to reduce your taxable income. You believe the government is a bloated, wasteful organization, which consumes a huge amount of the GDP, and produces only a fraction of positive benefit from it. You don't want to "enable" any more of this bad behavior, than you are required to, to stay out of prison.
2. Instance 2, you operate a for profit business, while regularly being on the receiving end of the government's wasteful handouts & market manipulation. You use the tax money of others, to prop up your business and personally benefit from the handouts. But you are a "farmer", so everyone looks at it with a kind heart.
I don't blame farmers for partaking. They are between a rock and a hard place, and it's awfully hard to turn down free money.... This trap has been carefully laid for years & it would collapse the sector to reverse it at this point. But I can pretty well assure you, if we flip back to some threads from the recession, very few were as kind hearted towards other sectors receiving subsidies..........
Just call a spade a spade. Most farmers are on the government tit. I'd dang sure rather see them get it over many of the other welfare programs and waste going on in this country.
