Is a family in DC making $200k "wealthy"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The conversation was about if 200K is wealthy or not, by DC standards. By any standard, it is pretty good. And the article PP quoted above says "local" taxes, as well, not just national.

The article states that taxes, when combined, are at their lowest. It can and does mean some taxes are higher and some taxes are lower, and when averaged, there are more lower taxes than higher taxes. It does not mean residents in DC are paying less in DC taxes. This report is a few years old, but does a good job of summarizing the various taxes in DC.
http://www.dcfpi.org/4-15-04tax.pdf
"Income Tax: The top marginal tax rate was reduced from 11 percent to 9.5 percent in the late
1980s, and all tax rates were reduced further after 2000 under the Tax Parity Act. In recent years,
the District also enacted a substantial Earned Income Tax Credit for low- and moderate-income
workers. On the other hand, DC's personal exemption and standard deduction have not been
adjusted for inflation for more than a decade. Overall, tax liabilities for low-income residents
have fallen substantially since the early 1990s, primarily as a result of the EITC. Income tax
liabilities have remained relatively stable for middle-income families and have declined somewhat
for higher-income families."

If you look at the graph on page 3, it shows Total Tax Revenues as a Percentage of Personal Income, 1973-2004. It was at its lowest in the 70s, highest in the late 80s, small dip in the mid-90s, then back up. Granted, the report is from 2004, but I highly doubt the tax rates are significantly lower to beat out the 70s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The conversation was about if 200K is wealthy or not, by DC standards. By any standard, it is pretty good. And the article PP quoted above says "local" taxes, as well, not just national.

By DC standards, $200K is good, but not wealthy.

[Anonymous]

Oh you will never be wealthy enough. So stop dreaming.
But I have no sympathy for the ones making that kind of money and crying poverty

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Christ, people, the point is that currently people in DC who make $40K pay the SAME marginal tax rate as those who make $200K. You can whine all day about how not-wealthy your $200K makes you, but surely you can agree that you are a lot wealthier than a family making $40K and that you can afford to pay taxes at a slightly higher rate than the $40K family.

The equal marginal tax rate means the $200k person pays way more tax in absolute dollars as well as a total percentage. That's more than fair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Christ, people, the point is that currently people in DC who make $40K pay the SAME marginal tax rate as those who make $200K. You can whine all day about how not-wealthy your $200K makes you, but surely you can agree that you are a lot wealthier than a family making $40K and that you can afford to pay taxes at a slightly higher rate than the $40K family.

The equal marginal tax rate means the $200k person pays way more tax in absolute dollars as well as a total percentage. That's more than fair.

To think it is fair that someone trying to get by on $50K or $60K pays the same $8.50 per $100 of marginal income as someone who makes 300K is an interesting use of the word "fair".

[Anonymous]

DC income tax IS one of the highest state tax rates of all 50 states. This rate is usually 4-6%, not 9.9%+++. And just look at how corruptly it is spent - friends & family vendors, embezzling, focus areas are the SE, not the NW. Even your NW DC property taxes are diverted away from you. Janney, Lafayette, Murch, etc. get 8k per student and the troubled schools get $11k.

Face it, the ROI on your DC tax dollars is cents on the dollar.

Then you have the safety issues, anytime it snows just drive to VA or MD and see how the DC side has snow and the other is all sanded and salted and plowed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC income tax IS one of the highest state tax rates of all 50 states. This rate is usually 4-6%, not 9.9%+++. And just look at how corruptly it is spent - friends & family vendors, embezzling, focus areas are the SE, not the NW. Even your NW DC property taxes are diverted away from you. Janney, Lafayette, Murch, etc. get 8k per student and the troubled schools get $11k.

Face it, the ROI on your DC tax dollars is cents on the dollar.

Then you have the safety issues, anytime it snows just drive to VA or MD and see how the DC side has snow and the other is all sanded and salted and plowed.

I call bullshit on the snow. I do a lot of work in Tysons and I've been there when there is snow and McLean is a nightmare. Troll.

[Anonymous]

Dh and I combine for $190k and live in fairfax county with three kids in extremely good public schools. We are, if not wealthy, certainly extremely well off. But if we lived in DC we would be much worse off...would have to pay $90k a year for equivalent schools, higher taxes, and slightly higher real estate costs. I honestly don't know why people with kids don't move out to va or md.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How dare they define me as wealthy. Gas prices keep rising and it's getting very expensive to fill up my BMW with premium. I mean, it's not like I drive a Mercedes. Plus, my nanny is demanding a raise to nearly $40k. If I have to pay her such extravagant wages, it leaves hardly anything left from our pitiful $200k HHI. For goodness sakes, we had to vacation domestically last year. Doesn’t anyone see my plight?

Absolutely. Vacationing at one of those Delaware beaches was simply awful last summer. All those people. Life is a bitch!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dh and I combine for $190k and live in fairfax county with three kids in extremely good public schools. We are, if not wealthy, certainly extremely well off. But if we lived in DC we would be much worse off...would have to pay $90k a year for equivalent schools, higher taxes, and slightly higher real estate costs. I honestly don't know why people with kids don't move out to va or md.

Honey. You're poor. Those people who live in ward 3 and send their kids to private school make much much more than you.