Running Bear's February 2019 Coffee Shop


Status
Not open for further replies.
1549535940816.png

Newspapers likened the corner of York Road and Lake Ave to the "War torn trenches of France" in September 1929, when the city was a little tardy in completing paving work. In this photo a No. 8 Towson-bound United Railways and Electric Company car picks up passengers. Streetcar service lasted on this line until the fall of 1963.
Jimbo Woodrow Buckler‎ - BALTIMORE OLD PHOTOS
 
Bruette said:
Good morning Everybody,

My taxes are almost complete, all I have to do is mail the checks.

Forgive me if I am not as happy as usual, like I said, my taxes are almost done.

I would go on a political rant, but because I don't want to upset anyone. I'll just say the new tax laws and tax laws "under review" did not provide any tax relief for my wife and I.
Click to expand...
Louis - While this may not be a factor in your case, one of the biggest issues with the new tax law is withholding. Most employers across the country implemented the new withholding tables and most (but not all) taxpayers didn't pay attention. Most of them actually received bigger paychecks all year long and are getting a smaller refund than they used to get. Compounding this is "direct deposit". Most (again, not all) people only check their balance, not the actual amount of the deposit, and never realized that there was actually an increase, they just spent the money without realizing it. Under the old withholding tables, you could, and many people did, withhold an extra $10 or $15 per check which eventually led to a larger refund, although you were actually letting the government use your money interest-free all year long. Many people did not do this when the tax law changed and many companies "zeroed-out" this withholding when implementing the new tax rate tables.
H&R Block, TurboTax, Liberty and others, all have a computer program that will show the difference in actual income for people that are repeat customers, since they anticipated this in advance.
Compounding this in your case is that Maryland has the third highest state income tax in the nation (even higher than CA), and individual cities and counties in your state can tack on additional percentages, as much as 3.2% on top of the state rate of 3.88%. I'm sure that Baltimore City goes the maximum that the law allows.
Most likely Angela is paid and withheld with W4 rates and her actual checks were greater all year long. Those who's income is reported on 1099's might notice a difference and get a bigger refund if their hours from year to year are equal. Note that the IRS is suspending most penalties for underpayment for 2018, due to the roll-out confusion.
I know that this won't make you feel any better.:mad:
 
Weather: Now, light snow and 7 above, later today we will cross into the Cold Zone with the temperature dipping down to -19 below, again. I don't know if this is a "Polar Vortex"; or, simply an "Alberta Clipper"! Winds will be about 15 MPH, so it will be a stay inside day.

Someone mentioned that the deer in my photo seemed too domesticated. At the moment I took the photo, they may have looked that way! However, had I made a quick movement, they would have been gone in an instant. There are multiple groups of them that visit my bird feeder to clean up what the Chickadees and Nuthatches kick out. The birds seem to be looking for one specific seed and anything that's not that seed gets the "Boot"! That the deer come-up and clean-up is appreciated! Otherwise the feed under the feeder would get soggy, moldy and start to rot when the spring comes. One of the Does that is a regular at the feeder, has a large scar on the right side of it's mouth and neck. When it's cold out, this deer has a saliva icicle hanging out of this scar in it's mouth; so, it must have been shot in the mouth; or, got it's mouth caught on something (Barb Wire?) Shes not as pretty as the other does in the area; but, makes up for this by bossing everyone else around. She gets the lions share of the feed.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
santafewillie said:
Louis - While this may not be a factor in your case, one of the biggest issues with the new tax law is withholding. Most employers across the country implemented the new withholding tables and most (but not all) taxpayers didn't pay attention. Most of them actually received bigger paychecks all year long and are getting a smaller refund than they used to get. Compounding this is "direct deposit". Most (again, not all) people only check their balance, not the actual amount of the deposit, and never realized that there was actually an increase, they just spent the money without realizing it. Under the old withholding tables, you could, and many people did, withhold an extra $10 or $15 per check which eventually led to a larger refund, although you were actually letting the government use your money interest-free all year long. Many people did not do this when the tax law changed and many companies "zeroed-out" this withholding when implementing the new tax rate tables.
H&R Block, TurboTax, Liberty and others, all have a computer program that will show the difference in actual income for people that are repeat customers, since they anticipated this in advance.
Compounding this in your case is that Maryland has the third highest state income tax in the nation (even higher than CA), and individual cities and counties in your state can tack on additional percentages, as much as 3.2% on top of the state rate of 3.88%. I'm sure that Baltimore City goes the maximum that the law allows.
Most likely Angela is paid and withheld with W4 rates and her actual checks were greater all year long. Those who's income is reported on 1099's might notice a difference and get a bigger refund if their hours from year to year are equal. Note that the IRS is suspending most penalties for underpayment for 2018, due to the roll-out confusion.
I know that this won't make you feel any better.:mad:
Click to expand...
Willie, for my wife it worked out to $65 and change/week the amount extra in her pay. I recalculated her weekly exemptions and claimed zero. I knew what was coming. Had I known they would let the underpayment slide I would have let it be. :)

We never expect a refund. We try to end up at zero, but we always end up under paying, even with my payments of estimated quarterly taxes, that helps me avoid the penalties. My 1099 and other income is hard to estimate ;) that's my story and I am sticking to it! So far I have never paid a penalty for under paying. Even when they audited me.

By the way I learned that Maryland's audits are done strictly randomly. Of course schedule C increases the chances to be audited.

I ran our numbers over and over, standard deduction, itemized deductions and married filling jointly, separately. I ran the numbers 6 times!

I compared bottom line; income and tax. We paid a higher percentage of federal tax this year. it was highest percentage of federal tax we have ever paid since my wife and I have been together and it was not our highest income.

I have hope, Turbo Tax said it would keep us posted on the past tax deductions that are now "under review", but I won't hold me breath.

Maryland tax percentage ended up being slightly smaller this year because I had much higher medical expenses last year, poor health is expensive.

I know all too well how high our taxes are in MD! Our current Governor promised tax relief and lower tolls on the roads, we got neither. In fact my cost using EZ pass doubled! The rate stayed the same but the policies changed. If you don't use all the trips they charge you any way! It was my own fault, by not feeling well I didn't work as much so I didn't use all my trips. I was unaware of the new policies and I got hit with the bill. I stayed with my current plan hoping to work more but I get hit again and again, 7 months in all. Like I said, that was my own fault.

Baltimore city has a 50% piggyback tax, the highest allowed by law. Not to mention the additional real property tax (Inventory and equipment) on businesses. Oh and the highest property tax in Maryland on our home and while I am at the highest water rates in the state.

MD has added express lanes and new toll roads, despite the promises they would not.

Under our former Governor and mayor I was ok with paying so much. The former Governor fully funded schools, capped tuition at state colleges and universities and more. The Former mayor improved the cities finances resulting in the highest bond rating ever and she made breakfast and lunch free at city schools. Not to mention the city cleared my street of snow every time, that was a first! She even gave out free rat proof trash cans. I did not see a rat on my street since!

I'm undecided about the new mayor, but our governor is sitting on a huge surplus, give some back to us!

I love my city and I love my state. I try not to let things beyond my control bother me. I vote and I am an informed voter, I just wish more people would vote based on facts rather than popularity or what ever insane reason.
 
Good Morning all,

Rainy, and 33 degrees this morning. The ice storm that was predicted for early this morning never materialized. It all fell as rain, thankfully. Give me snow any day over ice. The North winds are going to kick up late morning, and the temps are going to drop significantly.

Have a great day,
 
Good Morning All. 38° and cloudy at 0530. At 0330 when the thunder woke me up early and I had to close the bedroom window, it was 68°, a 30° drop in two hours. Right now there's .35" in the gauge and the storms have moved off to the east and intensified, hail and high winds about 50 miles away. Same system hit Johnny about the same time, but has now turned to snow up there. Not a lot of outdoor activity yesterday due to the intermittent drizzle all day long. Yesterday's reading from the gauge was .25". But in between, I was able to stack all of the firewood generated from the tree cutback Tuesday. Looks to be about four days of heating, but of course, it won't be cured until next fall. Seems that I did pick up a few chigger bites though, time to buy a bag of sulfur before they bite my wife.
Out in the train shed yesterday, I did a lot, but it doesn't seem to show. Moved across the road to Tony's, the butcher, and did half a gravel parking lot and some other ground cover. I also did some detailing of the slaughterhouse building including several hanging sides of beef, along with figures and other details. Once I misted and applied the glue/water solution to the ground cover/parking area; I moved to the worbench knowing good and well if I did any additional scenery, I would put my hand or elbow into what I already did. At the workbench, I started painting the windows of a DPM structure that I started a couple of weeks ago. This is why I have several projects going at once.

Joe - Hope that you're feeling better real soon. I read about that Marcal fire last week, ironically the same day that you mentioned my structure looked like something in Essex County. As I recall, it went to nine alarms.
Chet - So sorry to read about the shoulder. I agree that replacement is the best option, as the shots may or may not provide help. They also only mask the situation instead of improving it.
Beady - Thanks for the update. While I doubt that I will ever be checking it out, we can now recognize you from inside or out.:eek:
Curt - OK, I'll do without. I actually have a similar structure on the "to build" shelf that I haven't even thought of starting yet. Priorities right now are scenery, scenery, scenery.
David - Thanks for the interest. That's pretty much what I planned to do. The structure itself and all of the details are only attached to the base with Scenic Accent Glue and I may just use a few N scale track nails to "unwarp" the base. Already started with the gravel parking area, and like all gravel/concrete junctures in the real world, there will be some grass (ground foam) applied soon. Right now it's not attached so that I can do the detailing at the workbench. I have found some suitable interior shots of "junk on shelves" on the internet, and I just need to resize them right and print them out so I can add them to the structure.
Louis -
Bruette said:
The Former mayor improved the cities finances ... she made breakfast and lunch free at city schools.
Click to expand...
No such thing as a free lunch as the saying goes. You are paying for those free meals with the 50% piggyback and the high property taxes and other items that you mention. I know that you are OK with all this (you've posted so before) except when it comes time to pay.
Hopefully the past tax deductions that are "under review" pass muster. Once the IRS finds a questionable or disputed one, you're on the audit list for years to come. Even if you beat all disputes, you will still expend a lot of time and maybe money arguing with them.
Mark - Deer in my neighborhood generally don't come close to any residences and thankfully my garden, even when we had bird feeders. Maybe our birds weren't picky and didn't scatter too much seed. They come close when cleaning up the adjacent fields right after the wheat or sorghum harvests.

Everybody have a great day.
 
Good morning, everyone. Time for a big mug of strong coffee!! Strongest you have, Flo!!

Willie mentioned the storm system that woke him up and moved on into our direction. Actually we had a couple of rounds of severe weather. I was asleep at 11:15 p.m. last night when the tornado sirens went off all around me and the phone warning came in. Got up and put on TV to watch a storm heading toward Springfield at 85 miles an hour!! Holy mackerel!! We live east of Springfield, and I could feel the house shudder when the winds and rain hit - I retreated to our basement tornado room and stayed there until the all clear went out at midnight. Managed to get back to sleep, but more harsh weather is on us. It's been raining all night and temps dropped to 33. I'm at work, but worried about icing on the roads for the commute home tonight. It was mostly an ice storm north of Springfield all the way up to KC - I feel sorry for those folks up there.

I'll keep you updated on weather stuff here. Have a good day everyone.
 
Mark: I don't see deer around my home in the winter, just evidence they passed through. In the summer they like perennials and acorns. I suppose the corn and sunflower seeds the birds kick out of the feeder, meet with the deer's taste also, (that's assuming the squirrels leave them any). Our local deer are from the neighborhood, and are as domestic as a deer can get.

Willie: I saw early and late TV video of the Marcal fire. The fire took off when the wind picked up. The combination of paper and pulp, very old building, low hydrant water pressure, wind and severe cold doomed the firefighting effort. They had to draft water from the river to maintain exposure control. What a mess. This is not the best time of year to be a firefighter. Same day, there was a huge fire in the Bronx that consumed a block. Mike, thanks for uploading the video.

Right now, it's 39 and cloudy, with temperatures expected to remain above freezing for the next 36 hours. The wife goes for her infusion treatment today, so that will give me the opportunity to stop at Lowes for a few items I need. may also get my hair cut. The waiting area there is depressing, as there are some really sick people treated there. I have roughly three hours to spend so I try to fill my time constructively. Gotta Run!

Boris
 
Good morning. -11 to start the day off and may get +5 by afternoon. Not as cold as what Mark and Greg had, but these themps will probably be hanging around for another weer.

Thanks very much for the comments on my arm. Go in this morning for the MRI with a follow up with the surgeon next Tuesday. Like Jim mentioned, shots just cover the pain for a short period of time. I figure I may as well get what's best to get the arm repaired and get it over with. A little John Wayne therapy (whiskey) may be in order at some time.

Louis and Jim, those are some outstanding photos. Sweet.

I would like to thank Greg for putting me in touch with South Side Trains in Milwaukee, WI. I had been looking for months (years) for some Northern Pacific locomotives and finally bit the bullet and ordered these Walthers Main Line locomotives. Both units are powered. Just what I need to run at the club with the grades they have. Reading the reviews in MR, they did give it high marks.
emd_f7_a-b_set_esu_sound_and_dcc_910-19933_big.jpg The owner was relly nice. When I mentioned that I wanted the Northern Pacific units, I could see his eyes rolling around as he said that anything Northern Pacific is usually sold out. I did luck out and they had a few left in stock at Walthers. List price is $369.98 and my price is $259 plus postage. I hate to part with the money, but with the winnings from the recent tournaments we attended, I do have the money. No pain.

Gotta get ready to head to town so here's my rail picture for today.

Train-Track-Desktop-Background-Wallpapers.jpg


Later
 
I see that everyone's up early and bushy tailed!
It's 32 this morning -- I think that I mentioned a while back that out "winter" usually comes in February. The younger generation will have fun with all the snowfall up in the mountains - I hear as much as 24 inches fell.

Our "seasonal rainfall" stands at 10.56 inches (thought it would be higher); another couple of inches and we will at least reach our average.

I haven't even looked at any of the taxing papers. I did make a couple additional payments that my taxman said would be needed. On a local blog for the area, all the younger generation, mostly women, were complaining about having to make tax payments due to oweing more - and of course blaming The President - I asked them where they were when our auto registeration was almost doubled and the fact that we pay a dollar a gallon more than anyone in the Us.. I am sure that none of them ever gave a thought to any of the facts that Willie just presented. Now that our Governor wants to give "free" medical to all - WE ARE DOOMED.

Back to the auto shopping on the internet!
Later .....
 
Status
Not open for further replies.



Back
Top