Investing in stocks- who’s right?

[Jim Koepke]

I pay property taxes on 7 different properties - plus - since I only reside in one of those, I pay the max for the other 6.
In other and plainer terms - I contribute 7 times to the public services that nearly everyone else only contributes towards once.

Do those other 6 properties have roads for you to be able to visit them?
Do they have the protection of the local fire district or police departments?
Are they all for personal use generating no income?

Property taxes are unfair. The poorest areas pay the least in property taxes while the rich mansion neighborhood pays more.

In California a person who recently purchase a property is paying a lot more than a next door neighbor in an equal home who has had the property passed through family for years. If that mansion has been owned by the same family through many generations, it could be paying less in property tax than a home in a poorer area.

My guess is someone in the county assessor's office was happy when my home in California was sold. The property tax likely went up many times from what it was.

What is great in some counties is the tax basis can be moved to a different property in the same county. We didn't look into this since we moved to a different state.

jtk

[Brian Holcombe]

You all should move to NJ, property taxes to your heart’s content and then even more.

[Bill Dufour]

I really should dump all my stocks that have lost money for the loss. Even If I buy them all back the next day. That way if I sell some for a profit this year it will balance out. Of course when I go to sell them again in a few years the cost basis will be lower so taxes get higher.
Bill D

[Brian Holcombe]

That’s called a wash-sale, I believe you have to wait 30 days before purchasing the same stock if you want to claim the loss.

[dennis thompson]

I really should dump all my stocks that have lost money for the loss. Even If I buy them all back the next day. That way if I sell some for a profit this year it will balance out. Of course when I go to sell them again in a few years the cost basis will be lower so taxes get higher.
Bill D

I think you have to wait a while (30 days?) before you them back or you won’t be able to claim the loss. You can,of course , buy different stocks right away, but as Vanguard tells me all the time “ speak to your accountant”

Brian posted his reply as I was typing mine😊

[Bill Dufour]

Right you two are. I forgot the wash sales rules.
Bill D

[Bill Dufour]

Interesting gasoline investment choice. Do I fill up now before prices go up or do I wait so I have more room in the tank to buy more at a slightly higher price but still before the peak prices. What I hope will be the new peak prcies.
Bill D

[Rich Engelhardt]

Do those other 6 properties have roads for you to be able to visit them?
Do they have the protection of the local fire district or police departments?
Are they all for personal use generating no income?

I fail to see your point??!!??
Of course there are roads - paid for by the property taxes I pay on the properties.
Of course they have fire and safety protection - again paid for by the property taxes.
No - they are investment properties. Taxes, just like insurance, are a cost of doing business.
I guess you could successfully argue I don't pay the taxes, I just pass the cost along via the rental income - but - since that is 100% true of any tax on any business venture, I fail to see anything wrong with that.
Maybe you can make your point a little bit clearer.

[mark mcfarlane]

For me its 80% index funds and 20% high risk individual stocks.

Inflation will diminish the purchasing power of your retirement savings if you don't have your savings in some kind of return-paying investment, be it stocks, bonds, real estate,... The general market has outperformed inflation for decades, when measured over decades. Any given month is another story.

It's been a really bad year so far in the market but I am confident it will recover in the next decade.

[Jim Koepke]

Maybe you can make your point a little bit clearer.

“The Only Two Certainties In Life Are Death And Taxes” -- Benjamin Franklin

Public services are funded by local property taxes for the most part. I pay property taxes on 7 different properties - plus - since I only reside in one of those, I pay the max for the other 6.
In other and plainer terms - I contribute 7 times to the public services that nearly everyone else only contributes towards once.
Did you catch that? I pay 7 times - others pay 1 time - now pray tell me, how does that become me having a full suite of those services that "someone else" paid for?

You own 7 times the properties of the average person. Each of those properties receives as much right to public service as the adjacent properties. Why do you feel you should be allowed to only pay for one property while owning the other properties?

If two people both own properties should the one owning a two bedroom house on an eighth of an acre pay the same property tax as the one living in a 10,000 square foot home on 10 acres?

Surely if you have properties earning income your tax advisor has explained depreciation to you. Of course hopefully they have also explained the laws of recapture to you.

Nary a soul loves paying taxes. Though allowing the tax system to become the determining factor in how my money is earned or invested is not an endeavor that appeals to me. Though at time my friends have been told it wouldn't bother me to have to pay millions in taxes. The reasoning is if my taxes are a million dollars, there is likely still at least a million left for me.

My money comes in, my taxes are paid, life goes on.

All too many of my former co-workers thought it was a great idea to over claim dependents. Then when tax time rolled around they had to scramble to borrow money or hurriedly liquidate assets at an inopportune time.

Some people think me a fool for filing my W-4 at zero dependents. After all the extra money being withheld isn't earning interest. Well once a year we tend to get a nice check from the fed (now it is direct deposit). At times when we had extra income it helped to pay taxes owed.

jtk

[Rich Engelhardt]

You own 7 times the properties of the average person. Each of those properties receives as much right to public service as the adjacent properties. Why do you feel you should be allowed to only pay for one property while owning the other properties?

I'm only guessing here - but - I guess you missed the part where I said paying property taxes are a cost of doing business - just like having insurance. You could argue successfully that I don't really pay the taxes, I just pass the cost along, but, that's true of every business. You literally can't tax a business of a professional.

Nary a soul loves paying taxes. Though allowing the tax system to become the determining factor in how my money is earned or invested is not an endeavor that appeals to me.

Well then - fine. How I choose to invest does take paying taxes into account. If the tax man is going to offer me an incentive, I will take it if I can. So do tens of millions of others. Anyone that itemizes their taxes does take into account how their money is invested. If they didn't, they wouldn't go to the bother of itemizing.

Some people think me a fool for filing my W-4 at zero dependents. After all the extra money being withheld isn't earning interest. Well once a year we tend to get a nice check from the fed (now it is direct deposit). At times when we had extra income it helped to pay taxes owed.

We figured out the best filing status, based on our income and deductions, so we could end up at the end of the tax year either owing nothing or owing a very small amount. Just letting the IRS handle it is the most expensive way there is. If you sit down with the budget a few times a year & set aside money you'll need at tax time or free up money if there's extra that's all it really takes. If you don't want to put in that effort, then that's up to you. I don't think anyone is foolish for letting the .gov keep and use their money. If they are the type of person that has to use that kind of forced savings, then that's what works for them.

I never did like putting the property taxes & insurance in escrow either - where the money just sits and does nothing.

A little pre planning when it comes to filing can go a long way towards striking a good balance between having to scramble around April 15th or getting your own money back. FWIW - a tax refund isn't something you earned or extra income. When you get a tax "refund", you are just getting your money back.
If you go to the race track and wager $2 on a horse and it pays off and you get $2.20, you haven't made $2.20 - you made $.20. Same with a tax refund - only worse since that money you already own is just sitting dead doing nothing for you.

Since I started working for a pay check at 6 years old, I never could afford the luxury of having my hard earned money just sit somewhere with no clear defined purpose.

[Bill Dufour]

Last few weeks my John Deere stock has been doing well. They make farm equipment and excavators. Both will be needed to rebuild.
Bill D

[Brian Holcombe]

Let’s not forget that it’s folks like Rich, investing, that allow folks who can’t afford to purchase a home the ability to rent one. That only happens with an investor risking their capital. Frankly, I prefer them to be given plenty of leeway on how to utilize capital by not overburdening with excessive taxes or heavy regulation. His replacement is a large corporation risking the investors money rather than a local fellow risking his own money.

[Bill Dufour]

Let’s not forget that it’s folks like Rich, investing, that allow folks who can’t afford to purchase a home the ability to rent one. That only happens with an investor risking their capital. Frankly, I prefer them to be given plenty of leeway on how to utilize capital by not overburdening with excessive taxes or heavy regulation. His replacement is a large corporation risking the investors money rather than a local fellow risking his own money.

And that profit from the investment leaves the county and probably the state to enrich a big company somewhere else where they can pay taxes to their local government not yours.
Bill D

[Jim Koepke]

I'm only guessing here - but - I guess you missed the part where I said paying property taxes are a cost of doing business - just like having insurance. You could argue successfully that I don't really pay the taxes, I just pass the cost along, but, that's true of every business. You literally can't tax a business of a professional.

Public services are funded by local property taxes for the most part. I pay property taxes on 7 different properties - plus - since I only reside in one of those, I pay the max for the other 6.
In other and plainer terms - I contribute 7 times to the public services that nearly everyone else only contributes towards once.
Did you catch that? I pay 7 times - others pay 1 time - now pray tell me, how does that become me having a full suite of those services that "someone else" paid for?

You are right, something was missed. My thought process was focused more on you complaining about having to, "contribute 7 times to the public services that nearly everyone else only contributes towards once." Then you say it is passed through to others.

I must have been distracted by all the complaining about passed on costs or not being able to figure out how to invest in stocks without having to pay taxes at a lower rate than earned income.

My taxes go through an accountant. We take our paper work in, I go to the hardware store next door and shop for an hour or so and go back, sign the papers and it is done. Life is good, even if taxes have to be paid.

jtk