Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by janrinok on Friday February 23 2018, @06:53PM   Printer-friendly
from the had-our-fingers-crossed dept.

AlterNet reports

Disney Inadvertently Exposes Trump's Tax Cut for the Scam It's Been from the Start

When Donald Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law, he touted the legislation as a financial boon for American labor. As recently as January, Trump pointed to $1,000 bonuses for employees that American Airlines, AT&T, and Disney have announced as proof corporations would reinvest the billions of dollars they stand to save in their respective workforces. But if the president has offered a vision of how tax cuts for multinational corporations might operate in theory, an unfair labor practice complaint filed Tuesday reveals how they work in practice.

According to the Orange County Register, Unite Here Local 11, a union representing 2,700 housekeepers and other low-wage workers, has accused the Walt Disney Co. of effectively holding its bonuses hostage to secure a more favorable bargaining agreement. Disney is refusing to release the one-time payments "notwithstanding the union's lack of objection", the statement reads. "[The company] has violated its duty to bargain in good faith, and has engaged in conduct that is inherently destructive to rights guaranteed employees under the [National Labor Relations] Act." (For Disney's part, a spokeswoman maintains the company has a "strong offer on the table".)

[...] Regulatory findings released last month indicate [CEO Bob] Iger earned $36.3 million in compensation for 2017, which is $7.6 million less than he made the year before. The average union member at Disney World is paid $10.71 an hour, while just 3,000 employees earn in excess of $15. Disneyland staffers make a fraction more, the beneficiaries of California's decision last month to raise its minimum wage from $10.50 to $11 an hour. Unite Here's latest filing follows a separate complaint by a coalition of unions representing 38,000 Disney World workers in Florida.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by NewNic on Friday February 23 2018, @07:52PM (4 children)

    by NewNic (6420) on Friday February 23 2018, @07:52PM (#642593) Journal

    I think that you are an exception. Many people will be slightly better off, but other changes will likely take that away again. Did you factor in the loss of personal exemptions?

    I personally will be worse off under the new tax law, unless CA enacts the proposed tax credit for donations to the state (so my state income and property taxes become fully deductible charitable donations). Fortunately, I was able to pay the second half of my 2017 property taxes, which are due early 2018 and deduct this property tax payment from my 2017 income.

    --
    lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +1  
       Interesting=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   3  
  • (Score: 1) by Sulla on Friday February 23 2018, @08:18PM (1 child)

    by Sulla (5173) on Friday February 23 2018, @08:18PM (#642605) Journal

    Last I checked you can still deduct the first 10k of your state taxes, so depending on house size and how much property you own it might not be a factor. So for Oregon the median property tax is ~2200 and average is ~2800. Based on how the tax brackets work in order to be at 10k in income tax you need to make 105600. So if you pay the 2800 in property taxes and make less than 83k/yr then your taxes are at/under 10k.

    Quick search online shows that 29% of the population uses the schedule A on their taxes with the remaining using the 1040 or 1040ez. So 71% of people will see a reduction to their taxes, and 29% will see no change, decrease (if in a state without much taxes), or increase (in states with high state taxes).

    --
    Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
    • (Score: 2) by NewNic on Friday February 23 2018, @10:38PM

      by NewNic (6420) on Friday February 23 2018, @10:38PM (#642680) Journal

      My typical deduction for SALT is about $18k in recent years. So, yes, it will affect me.

      --
      lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by DeathMonkey on Friday February 23 2018, @11:11PM (1 child)

    by DeathMonkey (1380) on Friday February 23 2018, @11:11PM (#642708) Journal

    According to this poll [thehill.com] most Americans don't report a tax benefit.

    Just 25 percent of registered voters reported an increase in their pay, compared to 51 percent who said they did not.

    The number of employed voters who noticed an increase was higher, at 37 percent, according to the poll. Still, 53 percent said they haven't noticed an increase in their paychecks.

    • (Score: 1) by Sulla on Saturday February 24 2018, @12:38AM

      by Sulla (5173) on Saturday February 24 2018, @12:38AM (#642769) Journal

      Just 25 percent of registered voters reported an increase in their pay, compared to 51 percent who said they did not.

      The number of employed voters who noticed an increase was higher, at 37 percent, according to the poll. Still, 53 percent said they haven't noticed an increase in their paychecks.

      Kind of hard to have an increase in your pay if you aren't employed so the 25% number is worthless for now, especially because employment is going up and I won't even bother looking up the stats for what percentage of employers are going to give someone a raise within the first two months of being hired. So 37% of workers say they got an increase in pay and 53% notice no difference, remainder will fall into the don't know/no opinion. Of those 63% there are 7% that work for the federal/state/local governments who probably won't get a COLA until June, but contractually will get some sort of increase in 2018.

      As was said earlier on this topic, it is still pretty early to determine the exact tax ramifications of this bill and companies are working out the details. Despite uncertainty about the bill 37% have gotten raises, 7% will get raises, and 56% don't know.. Pretty damn good

      According to this poll [thehill.com] most Americans don't report a tax benefit.

      And my post was about the amount of money I won't have to spend on taxes, not the amount I am actually paid. Article you linked to seems to go the route of lower taxes = instant making more money. 1000 that you do not owe in taxes is 83/month you can reduce your withholding by, so enough to pay your insurance premium back in 2015 (89/mo) or 60% of the average car insurance (150/mo) or almost as much as the average homeowner insurance bill (90.25/mo). Looks like the average cable bill is 103 and cellphone is 110, electric is 110 and natural gas is even cheaper.

      80/month is a lot of money to some people.

      --
      Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam