Readers Write: Trump: comedy or drama — the income tax cuts

The Island Now

Mr. Messina’s Letter titled “Finding comedy in Comey and Pelosi” is correct… in one respect. He states “Trump passed the tax cut” and many middle-class people “realized a $1,000 benefit,” enough to “buy a new set of tires or a new refrigerator.”

Breaking it down further to about $20 a week might be enough to fill half your car’s gas tank. Who’s really laughing?

Knowing a result before filing a tax return is pretty good. I guess Messina filed his tax return for 2018 before the year ended and at least four months before the due date.

As for the tax benefit, I hope Messina is in a higher tax bracket than a middle-class person. For example, if he had taxable income of $1 million, his actual tax savings by filing a joint tax return would be $31,852. Whether middle class or above, the tax savings amounts to somewhere between 2 and 3 percent.

But let’s get to the real beneficiaries of this income tax cut. No doubt, it’s the corporations. Cutting the top tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent represents a 14 percent savings.

If Messina had a corporation with taxable income of $ million, his tax savings would approximate $140,000.

If my corporation had a taxable income of $10 million, my tax savings would be $1.4 million. For $100 million taxable income, tax savings would be $14 million. For a billion, tax savings would be $140 million.

Hey brother, can you spare a buck? Or a thousand bucks?

As for finding comedy with Comey and Pelosi, it’s a lot better to laugh than to deal with the daily drama/trauma of Trump.

A president should provide stability to the country. He should represent all the people, not just his base. If you don’t believe that is the function of the presidency, then it is you who is off base. Perhaps reading the Constitution would help.

Frankly, I would prefer that this president be seen and not heard, unless you love to hear lies day after day. Many thousands are documented. That’s even more than that one thousand tax benefit.

In concluding, may I suggest that Trump supporters ask themselves the following simple question: Would you like him to be your boss?

One thing’s for sure. Trump is a super salesman. He’s sold you all a bill of lies. And here I thought that Trump supporters were a whole lot smarter.

I guess Trump read them right. For him it was an easy sale. It bought him an election. God help us and, I am not pleading to Trump.

Alvin H. Goldberg

Great Neck

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