11/9 Letters: GOP tax plan will hurt seniors

Thanks to the GOP/Trump tax plan, many retired senior couples will see our federal income taxes double, triple and quadruple. I ran my 2016 tax return using the rules in the proposed GOP/Trump tax-reduction plan and found it would increase our joint federal income tax by almost 400 percent.

My wife and I live on Social Security, her small teacher’s pension and withdrawals from our IRAs. We are in our mid-70s and consider ourselves a middle-income couple. In 2016, we owed federal taxes of $393 on taxable income of $3,909. Under the GOP/Trump plan, we loose the excess medical and dental expense deduction, the N.C. taxes deduction and the two personal exemptions. Which leaves only the new $24,000 standard deduction. That causes our taxable income to increase to $12,947. Taxed at the new bottom rate of 12 percent, we would owe $1,554, almost four times the $393 we paid in 2016.

All seniors should recalculate their 2016 tax return using this GOP/Trump plan’s rules and see the effect. Then contact your representatives in Washington and let them know how their “huge” tax cut effects you.

‘Tired’ of politicians

Regarding “26 killed after gunman opens fire inside church” (Nov. 6): Ah, yes, another mass shooting, this time the worst church shooting in history. Our death-by-gunshot rate (per capita) now stands at 25 times the average of the other 22 highest-income nations.

Before the bodies were even removed from the church, there were published tweets of “heartfelt” sympathy from Governor Abbot of Texas, Senator Cornyn of Texas, Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and President Trump. All four were against even allowing a vote on a modest form of gun control. I am so tired of two-faced politicians.

Climate ‘apolitical’

“US report contradicts Trump team: Warming mostly man-made” (Nov. 3) shows that, despite sweeping changes made by the administration in the past year, many of the mechanisms of our government continue to grind on, unchanged. The same is true of our climate. No amount of discussion changes the amount of rain that falls or the effects that carbon emissions have on warming trends. The earth’s climate is apolitical, and it continues to grind on however we may debate it.

The administration’s climate report underscores this, with no alternatives on offer to explain the warming trend the planet is now experiencing. We can only look at ourselves and human action as the cause. Luckily, the market offers us a means to alter human action for the better: By implementing a carbon fee and dividend system, we can provide meaningful market incentives to people to reduce their fossil fuel use; and the benefits of such carbon-emission reduction will accrue to every American, regardless of politics.

This story was originally published November 8, 2017 at 6:00 PM with the headline "11/9 Letters: GOP tax plan will hurt seniors."