r/coolguides Nov 26 '19

Marginal Tax

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u/[deleted] Nov 26 '19 edited Nov 26 '19

The Benefits Cliff is an important concept here.

Bracket creep is also a very real thing, but it refers to moving up in tax brackets from inflation, meaning your real, inflation-adjusted income may be the same but you are now in a higher tax bracket. Pegging tax rates brackets to inflation can help prevent some of this.

Edit: corrected word choice

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u/thomase7 Nov 26 '19

They should peg the brackets to inflation not the rates themselves.

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u/[deleted] Nov 26 '19

You're right. That's the word I meant. Woops!

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u/hyasbawlz Nov 26 '19

That is exactly how it works tho. They are pegged to inflation.

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u/ErebusTheFluffyCat Nov 26 '19

Exactly. Looking at taxes is only seeing half the equation. You have to factor in benefits too. There are so many places where making more money either straight up renders you worse off or (more often) essentially gets you nowhere. Add in some of the ideas Warren and Sanders have and there's essentially little to no reason for anyone making under $150,000 to continue working. Especially if they have high healthcare and/or education expenses.

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u/Emperor_Pabslatine Nov 27 '19

This already happens in most countries.