Tax rebates: A clue to co-workers’ salaries

Why do people care what their coworkers make? Even if you knew, what would you do with the information? Storm to your boss and say “Mary Jane makes more than me!” Then your boss will wonder how you found out, and look at the can of worms that you’ve just opened up. Not only will you look like a complete tool, but your boss will lose total faith in you. And then he (or she) will wonder what you do all day at work. And kiss that raise good-bye!

Or what gets me is when someone says “I hate Mary Jane - she makes more than me” — how can you hate someone for that? I mean, it’s not like Mary Jane asked to make more than you just so she could spite you? You’ll always find some lame person at your workplace who focuses too much time on this.

Perhaps a coworker doesn’t get a tax rebate - does that mean they make more than you? No — perhaps they have a sizable investment income? Or they have a side business? There are dozens of things that can push someone out of the running for a tax rebate check.

I don’t care what my coworkers make because I don’t think that pay always equals performance, and I’m sure that there are people who make more than me who work harder than me, and I’m sure that there are those that make more than me who do much less.

My advice to people overly fixated on what your coworkers take home each week: get a life, get a girlfriend/boyfriend, get a pet, get a hobby, get something.

I’m very happy to receive my deserved rebate after seeing my 2007 tax rate doubling from 14% to 28% by a small modification (with major consequences) in the tax calculation for ex-pats working abroad. Yes, the governement knows how to sock it to its own citizens working abroad. This is clearly a case of taxation without representation. Annie, you should write an article on how the government increases taxes on its own citizens who live and work abroad. There is a clever twist in the 2007 tax form which allows such a tax increase. I was dumbfounded when I filed my 1040 earlier this year, but had to admire the twisted mind who contrived such a move to tax us more.

I found out that my wife and I would not be getting the 1200 dollar rebate because she never changed her social secirity card name to our narried last name. the frds say our cards and names do not match amd we now have to wait until next tax season to rectify. All this despt for 15 years I paid underpayments and receieved refunds. Wives should check their ss cards.

The thing that I don’t understand is the anger at the people who are getting rebates as if we had a say in it.It was forced on us and I for one will not turn it down. If you are , do something to change it. We should start with not electing the incumbents and try to clear out all the pliticians that are there for themselves and not us, which it appears to me is all of them.

I’m not getting a check either - I guess my husband and I would be considered lower middle class we usually make around 75K/year total but in 2007 we took his 401k of 88,000 (he was 62 1/2) to pay off credit card debt (I have already been preached to) so it put us over the limit. Needless to say we had to pay taxes PLUS we are ineligible for the rebate. I know several people who get back thousands because of earned credit income that have part time and low paying jobs and 4 or 5 kids. It makes me mad!!!

Some of the best business people and most productive workers are folks who were not the best students - really - the correlation between high grades and great success is not perfect. Suggesting only those with good grades should be in school is insulting to many. My high grades earned me free college so I don’t have the loans many folks have - but I’ve sure learned a lot in school and at work from people who were not as academically gifted as me. I’d rather not live in an America where we don’t encourage average students to take on debt and try to better their options and opportunities.

These early-career lawyers sure don’t garner a lot of sympathy from me - in a few years(10-15?) they can be in private practice making 300k+ and those loans will seem like a very good deal. Take some notes now so you can tell your kids about when you had it tough while you raise them in your mansion

Annie again — Just to go a bit off the subject of tax rebates, and taxes in general: The real problem for “Disgusted”, it seems, is those heavy student loans. It seems nonsensical that how good an education you can get depends on how much money you have — or how much you can borrow — but that is our crazy system. The European way seems more logical: You have to be a very, very god student to get into college at all, but if you are smart enough to get in, the government pays for your education. People don’t graduate from college with these crippling burdens of debt that take decades to pay off. We are the richest country in the world, yet we “can’t afford” such an approach it seems… although apparently we can “afford” whatever the Pentagon spends (how many billions per day is it now?… Not to get political, but our priorities as a nation could stand a good hard look, in my opinion…

Jay- sorry to hear that. I am not far behind you. About $200,000 in Student Loans to repay and still not a homeowner, probably because I am a responsible debtor and figured if I couldn’t make the mortgage payment, I probably didn’t belong in that house to start with.

As to Dave- trust me, I am no hotshot. I live in the suburbs of NYC because that is where I can make a living, and that is where our support of family is. Moving to PA would not pay my student loans, and then we would have no one to help out with the kids. So the Government you feel has every right to screw me because I choose to live where I can make ends meat and not default on my student loans. Again like I said. There is something seriously wrong with this country when that is the justification for putting a gun to my head and stealing my money through what is ” a legal means of government taxation and redistribution”. Isn’t this what our Founding Fathers fought against?

Also, as far as Cost of Living Adjustments go, I think it would be next to impossible to make that happen. Yes, you are living/working in a more expensive city making really good money, but unfortunately there are still many, many people in that expensive city that are able to live in that same city off of teacher pay, police officer pay, firefighter pay, etc. The powers that be are more worried about them than those making well into six figures. For those who expect/demand another adjustment to the rebate calculation to include cost of living I simply suggest getting a job with the U.S. military which is the only nationwide employer I know of that provides a housing allowance that is adjusted based on your zip code. Case in point, a friend I deployed to Iraq with lived in Long Island NY while I lived in Richmond VA. From what I remember, his monthly housing allowance was roughly $2600 while mine was about $750. Lastly, I think that people need to get off their high horse and stop saying how hard they worked to make the money salary they make and that everyone who makes less than 100K a year is lazy or whatever other derogatory word you might use. Our country wouldn’t function AT ALL without all those “little guys” doing the lower paying jobs that a lot of other people won’t do…Sometimes you need to look out for them too rather than complaining about your “plight.” A couple grand to most of the people receiving is likely more than a month’s pay, while to many of us we make that in less than a week.

Pay should be widely disclosed. Even Alan Greenspan in his book admits to hiring female economists because they they do the same quality work as men and cost less. It is hard for income inequality to exist if everyone knows what everyone else makes.

As to the matter of redistributing income through taxes, I’ve learned that how you feel about it depends on how much money you make. When I was a young, idealistic, broke kid I saw nothing wrong with income redistribution. It seemed only fair. Then I went to law school. My husband and I have $110k in household income, which sounds good until you factor in $500,000 in just student loans. That does not include current expenses. If I paid less in taxes I could go a long way to digging myself out of school debt and maybe start saving for a house. At this point I haven’t even bought new clothes or shoes for myself in years, I eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from home for lunch, my car is about 10 years old, and I work 50 to 60 hours per week to make the outrageous loan and rent payments. I’d love a tax cut.

As for indexing the payment to cost of living - aren’t you used to it yet? None of our taxes are scaled to cost of living - so you folks in high-cost areas pay a serious tax-premium for that luxury. Its a choice you should be making with your eyes open! Come out to central PA where the taxes are low, land is cheap and the culture is 1950’s - or live like a hotshot in NYC or LA - but you’re going to pay extra for that - don’t get mad - its the way its been a long time - and you are choosing to live there!

People should be open - it only helps the employers that we keep this all secret. I’m an IT contractor and we all share our rates with each other so we know where the market is at. Also - you can figure out sometimes the end client billing rate and you know how much they are paying for the nice feeling that they got you from an agency. I’m often marked up by more than $50/hour - its amazing companies will pay an extra $100k/year to hire me as a contractor from xyz consulting intead of Mylastname Consulting. Legally its all the same.

The income, in many ways, is a redistribution of income. This “rebate” will certainly take money from the top 10% or so and give it to rest of the tax payers. I don’t mind the rebate working out this way. Giving a few hundreds to well off people will not stimulate the economy. Sadly, much of the money that goes back to the middle class ends up again with the wealthy.

Actually, they are handouts. The “OUR money”, as you call it actually belongs to the government, and therefore the pool of everyone that makes up this country. If the government gave everyone back the same amount of money, then it wouldn’t be a handout. Since the people who paid most of the money into the system are not getting that money back, we are getting a handout from them and they are getting screwed. I stress the we part because I am one of those getting a rebate back, not one of the people getting screwed over by this stimulus.

I plan on using my rebate to cruise around a bit in my car, so I can give it to the oil companies in this country that we are now trying to swindle with a windfall tax.

Lot of peaple enjoying the stimulus package. but there are lot like me got social security # and my wife don’t have because she is is not(H4 visa). We are not eligible. But transfereed L1 employess get becuase their wife l2.
they are eligible for social security. it sound weired ..

And as a follow up to my below e-mail. I read another viewers comment below. And yes, if our Politicians had HALF A BRAIN—maybe they would have adjusted the “REBATE” to something based on COST OF LIVING! Try living in New York with 2 kids, 2 masters degree’s of student loans to pay back, gas prices what they are, rent’s what they are—and call us rich???? Again- I am not asking for a handout—-but lets at least be fair if we are going to dip into the Public Treasury which my children will end up repaying, and hand out the same “REBATES”, notice I didn’t say proportional, because they I would want probably Double what everyone else was getting based on what I paid in Federal,State and Local taxes last year. America is on the WRONG TRACK.

People- Rachel was on to something here. Are we living in Communist Russia these days? To each according to their need from each according to their ability? Lets call this “rebate program” what it is. A redistribution of taxpayer dollars. Why wasn’t this “rebate” handled the same way in which it was back in 2001. Everyone got the same $300 regardless of income levels. The people who are not receiving these checks are the ones who paid 70% of U.S. taxes last year anyway. The majority of the people receiving these checks paid $0.00 in Federal taxes. Lets just be honest and call this what it is. Redistribution of wealth from those according to their ability to those according to their need. Ayn Rand must be turning in her grave. Thanks Stalin- I mean Bush. Why did we put you in office again? Thanks for reaffirming that you are the WORST President in the history of the U.S. Welcome to the People’s Republic of America.

Annie, responding to your post…my wife, who is a CPA, actually calculated ours and we are getting the full refund because all of our deductions push us under the 150k limit. The thing that is irritating for us about the rebate is that we owed in $1350 between state and federal this year, so we are actually netting a negative $150 after the rebate!

Annie here. Yes, JD, you are right: The rebates are based on AGI (adjusted gross income), which means after deductions, and the standard amounts (maximum $1,200 for a married couple filing jointly, for example) are assuming you owe no back taxes. Even though your income is high, you are right, you’ll still get a rebate. It will just be a small one compared to other households whose income is far lower than yours. These rebates are not handouts, by the way! All the government is doing is giving us back some of OUR money!

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the stimulus check is calculated after deductions. So, in my case, my wife and I would exceed the limits. But, I finished my MBA last year (education deduction), fully contributed to our 401ks (30,000+), and had a couple of other write-offs along with charitable deductions. So, I am going to get a rebate even though our combined income was 180k+.

Rachel,
That might be the most ignorant comment I have ever read. I wasn’t aware that I have done nothing with my life until you pointed it out. I guess my wife and I, who both have 4 year college degrees and have decent jobs with a combined salary of around $90,000 really should just give up. You’re right, all we know how to do is get handouts. I’ve never tried or worked hard a day in my life. What a joke. It’s people like YOU who are disgusting.

The first poster states that anyone getting a stimulus check has done nothing with their lives and only knows how to get handouts. This statement is a very broad generalization that is false for a vast majority of people getting these checks. I have an education and earn a decent living as an engineer all the while my wife is going to medical school. Our only financial help for tuition is our school loans and my salary. This stimulus package will help with paying for all the extra costs associated with medical school such as books, parking, living close to the medical center where the cost of living is at least 20% greater than the suburb near my work so my wife doesn’t have to drive an hour plus after her 30 hour work days, and yes I said day, every fourth day. So just because someone gets a stimulus check does not mean that they only know how to take handouts and will never pay into the system. We are educated and work hard, my wife working harder than most people in this nation for which she has to pay tuition and not get a salary. When she is out of medical school she will make a wonderful salary of, if we are lucky, 45k a year for 3-6 years depending on sub-specialization which will all go to paying of the loans needed to get this education. Back to the point of this message board, I have already used this stimulus packaged to try and determine the salary of my colleagues that are further along in their carrier and am surprised at who is actually getting a check. Oh, and all of these people are educated hard working Americans.

Well, I am quite certain that this will be the last time I open this blog! It was my first visit here and now my last. I’m disappointed in you for such a trashy headline. If all people can do is try to figure out another person’s salary, they have failed to create a meaningful life for themselves, and shame on me for even responding.. Blaaagghh to the blog.

Not everyone are up in the 10% income. Alot of citizens are self made regardless of their social location.they live in modest homes and possiblely work in manufacturing or the service sector. Everyone receiving a stimulus check are getting a handout or looking for a handout. It was their money to begin with.One should research the big picture and possibly take a semester of sociolology.Where will allthis funding end up? Maybe the petroleum industry or the number one retailer. Can the social structure be compared to an eco system where each dependant upon the other?

Great. Wealth redistribution. Marxism. Whatever happened to hard work and respect for privacy? No longer traits of most Americans.

150,000 Phase out!!! Pffff!
I live in NY and have a combined salary of just over the phase out mark, yet we are stretched financially as well. With the median prices of homes in LI at 500,000, 2 Children, it is still difficult to Save anything. We do not go out, Daycare is ridiculous… What about some stimulus based on cost of living!

I think it’s fascinating to find out how much people make and what they do. In fact I think there should be a class for high school kids to see different occupations (like a field trip to thier work and RESIDENCE) to see if you work hard to become a surgeon (like the kidney transplant surgeon accross the street from me) you too can make $700K/year. Or a “top producer” at a car dealership who makes $300K+. Or an industrial controls programmer like myself that makes $110K (plus another $30K from rentals and a small side business). Or a skilled factory worker/machinist that makes $70K (with a bunch of overtime). Or a friend who is a police sargent and makes $72K/year. In fact there are a bunch of occupations that pay well but aren’t the typical doctor, lawyer, police man jobs

Hi Anne,
Funny what you are mentioning about people’s salaries and whether they should be ‘public’.

I have a website called: CoworkerSalaries.com where people can actually post the salaries of coworkers.

A little extreme, maybe. But I do not believe that salaries should be a secret.

I’m really sick and tired of reading about how people are going to spend their stimulus check. Especially since I’m one of the people who will not get a check because the govt thinks I make enough money to stimulate the economy on my own. Of course, the govt fails to point out that people such as myself and others will essentially be paying for these stimuli checks with our outrageous taxes. My income and salary are entirely due to my education and my training and not to anything else. Those people getting a stimulus check are people who did nothing with their lives except know how to get a handout…totally disgusting.