5 moves — and 7 tax tips! — to make if you're fired

Regardless of your thoughts, political or otherwise, when it comes to L'affaire Comey, most of us can relate to the recently fired FBI director. Like James Comey, we've at some point been out of job, either by our choice or because we, too, were let go.

If that happens to you, here are five steps to take. And, of course, there are tax implications for each of the post-job moves.

1. File for unemployment.
If you lose your job through no fault of your own, for example, a corporate downsizing, you should be eligible for unemployment. Depending on the circumstances, you may be eligible even if you are fired. No matter why you were let go, check with your state's unemployment benefits office to be sure; eligibility for unemployment insurance, benefit amounts and the length of time benefits are available are determined by state law and vary depending on where you live. If you qualify, apply for unemployment as soon as you can. Even if you get another job quickly, the benefits can come in handy in the short-term.

TAX TIP: Unemployment is taxable income. Yep, it's one of those terrible tax surprises that folks encounter during one of the most stressful times of their lives. You can have taxes withheld from your unemployment benefits, but most people don't because, duh, they're out of a job and need all the money they can get for day-to-day expenses. In that case, you'll need to consider paying estimated taxes on your unemployment amount. (More on these added tax payments in upcoming tip #3.)

2. Review your health insurance options.
If your medical coverage is through the job you just lost, your Human Resources department should provide you with information on continuing your health coverage for at least a while under COBRA. But since that's typically more expensive than what you're sued to paying, you also should investigate getting a new policy to cover you while you're out of work.

TAX TIP: If you decide to work independently, either in between jobs or making the permanent switch to self-employment, the insurance premiums you pay could be deductible. You'll find the option to do so directly on Form 1040 as one of the above-the-line deductions.

TAX TIP: If you're married, check to see if you can be added to your spouse's coverage. That's generally allowable in major life change situations. Your husband or wife also should adjust other tax-favored company benefits, such as a medical flexible spending account (FSA), which also can be tweaked when there's a major personal shift such as a spouse's job loss.

3. Create or revise your personal budget.
Even if you get a severance package, that money won't last forever. So you need to address the imminent loss of income and added expenses for things like health insurance (see tip #2) sooner rather than later.

TAX TIP: If you take some contract jobs before returning to full-time employment or go totally solopreneur, make sure your new budget includes estimated taxes (previously mentioned in tip #1). These added payments to the Internal Revenue Service are due on income that, like 1099-MISC earnings, isn't subject to payroll withholding.

4. Roll your 401(k) into an IRA.
Note the advice to roll your company retirement account into another retirement vehicle, not to liquidate it. Even if your new budget shows you're short of cash, you don't want to take money out of your company retirement account unless it's an absolutely necessary, last-ditch, hardship move.

TAX TIP: If you're younger than 59½ and withdraw your 401(k) money, you'll owe not only taxes on the money but an early distribution penalty. Instead, keep your tax-deferred retirement money away from Uncle Sam's immediate clutches by transferring it directly to an IRA. A financial institution or fund company or, if you have one, financial adviser can help you with this. It's generally an easy process, but one with specific steps to take to ensure you don't accidentally trigger any adverse tax reactions.

TAX TIP: You can leave your 401(k) with your old employer. It will continue to earn tax-deferred there, but you'll no longer get the company match. Most folks roll their old 401(k)s into traditional IRAs, but if you qualify you can make an eligible 401(k) rollover directly to a Roth IRA, which means withdrawals in retirement won't be taxed. Remember, though, in this case you'll owe taxes on the amount of pretax assets you roll over.

5. Start looking for a new job.
If you decide you want to jump back into the traditional job pool, that's cool. To help make that happen, get a new email address, especially if your personal one is less than professional. I'm looking at you GoYankees@yahoocom. Then use that new email to alert folks of your new situation.

You also might want to set up a basic website where you can list a short bio and links to your work.  Also make the change to your social media pages that you use for professional purposes, such as LinkedIn.

And, of course, you'll want to re-do your resume.

TAX TIP: If all these job search moves lead to you getting another position in the same field, then you can claim them as an itemized deduction on your tax return. Note the same career area requirement. Although losing a job is for many a good time to totally shift employment gears, the tax code won't underwrite your dramatic job change expenses. My post on the 3 requirements you must meet to deduct job-search costs has more on this tax-saving opportunity.

I hope that if you ever do lose your job, these five tips and their seven associated tax tips can help you quickly quit feeling like the sad Star Wars stormtrooper pictured above.

I also hope that you're not out of work long and the job you do take or create is the one that you really, really want.

Good luck!

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Seattle's mayor adds diet drinks to beverage tax proposal in response to demographic disparity concerns

What's a weight watching person to do? Artificially sweetened soft drinks, a staple of dieters' menus for decades, recently have come under fire as a health, both mental and physical, risk.

Now the no-calorie drinks could be a threat to some Seattle soda drinkers' bank accounts.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has revised his original soda tax, reducing the per-ounce amount a bit and adding diet drinks the list of beverages to be taxed.

Sugary drinks tax target: In his State of the City address in February, Murray called for a 2 cents per ounce tax on sugary drinks with the tax to be paid by beverage distributors.

Covered beverages under that proposal included carbonated sweetened sodas (Coke, Pepsi, et al), energy and sports drinks (Red Bull, Gatorade, etc.), fruit drinks (for example, Sunny D), sweetened teas (Arizona brand and others), and bottled coffees (Starbucks shelf-ready drinks).

Not surprisingly, Murray's effort to tax sugary drinks got push-back.

Class, race tax concerns: In addition to the usual anti-tax complaints, there was the argument that the tax proposal was regressive and would affect lower-income drink buyers more than those with more discretionary income.

Some even denounced the class and race implications of the tax. Taxing sugary beverages while leaving diet drinks off the taxable list is unfair, they contend, because affluent white people consume more diet drinks.

Murray heard the argument. His staff, along with folks from City Councilman Tim Burgess' office, studied disparate impacts the tax could have on people with low incomes and on people of color. The data, apparently similar to that in the Seattle Times graphic below, was enough to change the mayor's mind.

Diet drinks now on tax list: Now Murray wants the city council, which is schedule to take up the issue on May 10, to approve his new bill.

It would add a 1.75 cents per ounce tax, down from 2 cents but still payable by distributors, to all sweetened beverages, whether that taste boost is from sugar, corn syrup or noncaloric artificial sweeteners. Beverages that are 100 percent fruit juice, as well as medicine, infant formula and milk-based products would not be taxed.

The money from the new tax, which in its revised form is estimated to bring in $23 million (up from the original $16 million) per year, would be used to fund various child and education efforts, such as before- and after-school programs, summer learning sessions, early learning classes and Seattle Colleges scholarships.

Change doesn't placate opponents: Seattle restaurant and retail store owners, as well as soda-industry trade groups and some labor unions, still oppose the proposed beverage tax.

Opponents point to Philadelphia's soda tax, which also added diet drinks to its taxable drinks list. While the City of Brotherly Love's initial tax intake was double than what the city expected, beverage sales also dropped.

Plus, Pepsi said its decision to lay off 80 to 100 workers at its three distribution plants that serve Philly are directly tied to the soda tax's effects.

What's happening in Philly seems to support the observation that sin taxes, the added collections on products deemed unhealthy, might discourage the targeted bad habit, but they ultimately do little for a taxing jurisdiction's overall revenue.

Seattle's beverage consumers will find out soon whether their city's drink tax changes will be enough to counter opposition and convince the city council to go forward with the levy on assorted liquids.

You also might find these items of interest:

• Soda taxes among 2016 ballot measures approved by voters  
• Calories or volume: Which is the better tax on sugary drinks? 
• Alabama's governor proposes a soda tax more for his state's fiscal rather than physical benefits

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5 ways to Seize the Summer and Make More Money Next Tax Season

Tax season may be over and summer/vacation time may be in full swing, but here’s something to keep in the back of you mind: there are about 257 days until the start of next season. So why not Carpe Diem – or better yet seize the summer to ensure you are spending the off season making moves that will earn you more income next season?

Here are 5 ways to seize the summer and make more money next tax season.

Build relationships 

Don’t wait until December to start reconnecting with potential clients. Keep building those relationships by regularly attending networking meetings, lining up speaking engagements, sending emails, and engaging on LinkedIn.

You should also spend the off season trying to build up your email list so that you have a good pool of people to reach out to when tax season comes. Make sure there’s a way for people to sign-up for your email list from the home page of your website and create free downloads in exchange for an email address on social media.

Read: How to Stand Out on LinkedIn

Improve processes

Dive into customer surveys and feedback and make an action list of ways to improve for next season. Are there new processes that need to be developed? New offers you should consider? Evaluating your tax season is very important.

Read: How to Evaluate Tax Season

Learn more to earn more

Tax preparers who can prepare complicated returns earn more money because those types of returns are higher dollar. Why not spend the tax season learning as much as you can so you can diversify your offerings next season?

The Income Tax School offers Chartered Tax Certificate programs that will not only increase your knowledge, but will enhance your reputation as a trusted tax professional and give you a competitive advantage in your market.

The beauty of our courses is that you can take them at your own pace from anywhere AND get instructor support!

Steal strategies from the pros

Are there areas of your business you know you need to improve upon? You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to be successful. You can borrow ideas from companies who are already successful. The national tax firms have spent years developing and testing systems that produce consistent and reliable growth. You can apply the same strategies they use to build your business with our Tax Practice Management Manuals.

 

 

 

 

 

Develop a content plan

Internet marketing has become a powerful force in business. Its success is dependent upon valuable and well planned content. Now is the time to start mapping out your editorial calendar for next season (and the off season as well). Here are some articles that will help get you started:

5 Essentials to Develop a Client Newsletter

Social Media Guide for Tax Business Owners

Social Media Checklist for Tax Preparers

To quote Jim Rohn, “Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Don’t wish it were easier; wish you were better.”

source http://www.theincometaxschool.com/blog/make-more-money-next-tax-season/

A tax break gift for educators on National Teacher Day

I'm a big fan of teachers, not just because my grandmother and one of my aunts were teachers, but because I had great instructors from elementary through college.

So celebrating National Teacher Day is the least I can do. That and remind teachers and others who help educate us that there's a tax break specifically for them.

Tax reward for teachers: Most teachers go beyond lesson plans and working weekends to get ready to make the learning experience one that resonates. In fact, a lot of teachers spend their own money to help make their classroom presentations effective.

In recognition of this extra cash outlay, the Internal Revenue Code now has a permanent provision that allows elementary and secondary school teachers, as well as certain other educators, to claim an above-the-line deduction for their out-of-pocket expenses.

This tax break previously was part of the tax extenders, a group of temporary tax laws that had to be renewed periodically or they would expire. The tax break for teachers was added to the extenders list in 2002 and was renewed six times as an extender.

But in December 2015, the educators' expenses income adjustment became a permanent part of the tax code thanks to the Protecting Americans From Tax Hikes (PATH) Act.

In addition, the law change also expanded the deduction to cover professional development expenditures and indexed the $250 maximum amount for inflation.

These enhancements mean that qualifying educators can now count on the deduction each year and potentially get more from it than before.

Here are the educators' expenses tax break's highlights.

$250 and maybe more 
As noted earlier, teachers and other educators can deduct up to $250 they spend during the tax year on classroom supplies. If inflation warrants, the $250 amount will increase each tax year. For 2017, though, low inflation kept it at the $250 level.

What if both you and your spouse are teachers? Good news. Couples who share education careers and file jointly could get a double tax break. Each education-employed spouse is allowed a claim of up to $250 of qualified expenses. But that limit applies separately.

That means your jointly filed 1040 could include a $500 deduction if you each spent $250 on your separate classrooms' supplies. But if one of you spent less and the other more, you can't combine your costs.

So if you spent $350 on school supplies and your husband or wife spent $150 on his or her classroom, you can deduct only $400 on your return — $250 for you and $150 for him or her — not your combined $500 in out-of-pocket education expenses.

No itemizing necessary
Don't itemize? No problem. There's no need to mess with Schedule A, since you don't have to itemize to claim this tax break. You enter your allowable education expense total directly on Form 1040 or Form 1040A.

This tax filing entry, officially known as an adjustment to income, helps reduce your tax bill by knocking dollars off your overall income. Less income to tax generally means a lower tax bill.

However, the Internal Revenue Service still recommends that educators who take this tax break hang onto to all receipts and other documentation to substantiate their qualified expenses just in case the tax agency later has some questions about the claim.

Teachers' education costs count
With the expansion of the tax break, educators now can count their expenses for their own professional development when claiming this deduction. Classes that count, according to the law, are those courses that relate to "the curriculum in which the educator provides instruction or to the students for which the educator provides instruction."

Note that these are extra courses to enhance teacher skills. Costs educators incur to meet the minimum requirements of their current jobs or to qualify for a new profession may not be deductible.

Eligible educators
I know I keep typing "teacher," but the tax break is available to more than just the women and men who lead classroom work. The IRS says you can take the deduction if, for the tax year, you were employed at a state-approved public or private school system and held one of a number of positions.

Your position can be with any class from kindergarten through grade 12 as long as you work at least 900 hours during the school year. This applies to teachers, as well as an "instructor, counselor, principal, or aide" in a public or private elementary or secondary school who meets the hourly requirement.

If you home school your kid, though, you're out of tax deduction luck. As noted in the first paragraph of this section, the tax law specifically states that home instruction costs don't count toward the educator expenses deduction.

Eligible classroom expenses 
In addition to including professional development programs as part of educator expenses, this tax break covers a variety of other classroom costs.

The official guidelines are pretty broad. You can count unreimbursed costs for books, supplies, computer equipment (including software and services) and other equipment and supplementary materials used in the classroom.

The IRS also applies its ordinary and necessary rule here. To be considered ordinary, an item purchased for your classroom must be something that is common and accepted in the education profession. A necessary expense is one that is helpful and appropriate, but it doesn't have to be required to be considered necessary.

So buying a DVD of Emma Stone's "Easy A" movie to give your English literature students a modern take on and keep them engaged in your classroom discussions of Nathaniel Hawthorne's masterwork historical novel "The Scarlet Letter" likely would meet tax deduction muster.

But buying a new DVD player and 50-inch HD television to watch the movie instead of using older but still working school supplied equipment probably will prompt some IRS questions.

Every tax saving amount helps: Now I realize that $250 in annual classroom expenses is not that much. A lot of teachers spend lots more.

But every little bit helps. So keep track of your out-of-pocket costs and claim them on your 2017 return. This tax year could be the last one for which you can claim the educators expenses if it is one of the vague deductions that the Trump Administration vows to end in its promised/threatened rewrite of the tax code.

And oh yeah. Here's one more thing I can do for teachers today. As a reward for reading to the end of this assignment post, here are some better-than-an-apple freebies for America's educators.

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Trump's continued weekend travel, NYC home security costs raise more tax questions

The president is back in Washington, D.C., after spending the weekend not at Mar-a-Lago in South Florida, but at a closer family property, Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

A view of the Trump National Golf Club course at Bedminster, New Jersey. (Photo courtesy Trump International via Twitter)

It was the 14th weekend since his inauguration that Donald J. Trump has headed to one of his eponymous real estate holdings.

Trump explained his weekend travel decision twice on, of course, Twitter.

First, on May 5, he Tweeted: "Rather than causing a big disruption in N.Y.C., I will be working out of my home in Bedminster, N.J. this weekend. Also saves country money!"

Then the next day, he added: "The reason I am staying in Bedminster, N.J., a beautiful community, is that staying in NYC is much more expensive and disruptive. Meetings!"

Trump's travel (and more) costs: His acknowledgement of the expense seems to indicate that Trump is at least aware of the complaints about how much his penchant for being at one of his pre-election homes is costing the U.S. Treasury, not to mention that all that money is going back into Trump accounts.

The cost of just Trump's air travel for two weekends in Florida, according to a recent Wall Street Journal examination, was $1.3 million.

A new website, Is Trump at Bedminster?, is keeping track of not only the prez's whereabouts, but also the costs of his weekend departures from the national capital.

Then there's the added cost of the First Lady and Trump's youngest son still living in their Trump Tower home in Manhattan. Those expenditures were the focus of a New York Times' reader's recent letter to the newspaper's editor:

Re "Budget Deal Allots $120 Million More for First Family’s Security" (news article, May 2): President Trump has told us he is a billionaire. He has also, as a public service, offered to serve as president for $1. It seems only natural, then, that the president, in a similar spirit of civic-mindedness, should insist on paying these security costs himself. Besides, the cost might be tax-deductible.

Anything that mentions tax automatically catches my attention. This is an intriguing suggestion — not that Trump cover his family's added security costs himself, but that he might get a tax break if he does so — so I took it to some experts, specifically a group of Enrolled Agents who share their tax guruness on Facebook.

Enrolled Agents weigh in on tax implications: Responses ranged from very succinct one-word replies to more detail considerations of the tax possibilities if Trump ponied up personally for some of his and his family's added costs to maintain their pre-public service lifestyles.

Thanks to all the Enrolled Agents who took time to ponder this matter and offer their advice.

Below are some of the comments that particularly caught my attention. The comments have been lightly edited, mainly to clear up some tax-speak that tax pros tend to use with each other. Also, the links in the comments go to Don't Mess With Taxes posts (or my stories) on the issues mentioned by the tax pros.

• I think that would be a very tenuous deduction and I would not take it. First, Melania is not the POTUS, Donald is, so Melania's upkeep costs are Donald's not the taxpayers. Second, a house is provided to Donald that meets the "convenience of the employer" test, and that house is in DC, not NYC. Third, Donald's tax home is DC, not NYC and the engagement is anticipated to last longer than a year, so the Temporary Assignment rules do not apply. — Steve Katz 
  
  I agree with all of Steve Katz's points. Fails on all measures at the outset and even if it didn't, his deductions would be limited by the Pease itemized deduction limit threshold and then hit with the dreaded Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). — Kathy Morgan   
  
  Say he did list it, and the IRS did audit it, all Steve's comments would apply. Also, if spouse does not work with the organization, her/his expenses are not deductible (spouse's attendance at annual convention as an example). Maybe he needs to appoint her to an empty slot on his cabinet. — Judy Mereness Strauss 

• Under his employer reimbursement policy, he is entitled to having the government pay for his family's security. Therefore, if he pays it out of his own pocket, it is not deductible. — Shirley Garner Johnson 
  
  Bingo! — Lisa Skidmore Sexton

• The tax savings on paying his own expenses would dwarf the value of the services provided as essentially a "tax free stipend"(although even as POTUS wouldn't the value of any goods/services he receives beyond what's regularly provided in travel allowance and Secret Service protection for family members still be taxable?) With that in mind, if you were in his shoes would you take the tax benefit theoretically worth up to 39.6% (not considering AMT, 2% limit on miscellaneous deductions and any other limits on these deductions) OR the "tax free stipend" worth a full 100%? — Clint Masser

Tax questions beget more tax questions: As you can see, Trump's unconventional presidency has yet again raised tax questions.

The consensus in this case is that, for many reasons, Trump wouldn't get any tax benefit for picking up the tab for any of his added travel and family security costs.

But the original tax question also underscores what all of us in the tax world have long known. Tax questions often lead to as many additional questions as answers.

Maybe that tax tendency will be reduced by any tax reform accomplished by the Trump Administration. But I wouldn't count on it.

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How does your state and local tax deduction compare?

If you're like me, you're probably spending your Sunday perusing the possibilities for tax code change under the Trump Administration's recently announced plan. 

National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, left, and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announce the new administration's tax plan on April 26. Click image for full CNN video report.

The document — officially titled "2017 Tax Reform for Economic Growth and American Jobs" and officially subtitled "The Biggest Individual And Business Tax Cut in American History" — really is more of an outline.

Deleting deductions: Under the proposal's simplification bullet point, the first item is eliminate targeted tax breaks that mainly benefit the wealthiest taxpayers. (Of course, the list also includes repealing the estate tax, which seems contradictory to the first goal since the estate tax affects only the richest U.S. residents. But that's for another blog post.)

The White House has been vague about just what tax breaks it has in its sights. That's led to much concern and consternation among folks, many of whom don't consider themselves rich, about what tax breaks they might lose.

The Tax Foundation has been examining potential effects of Trump's tax plan. One of its analyses looks at which places in the United States currently benefit most from state and local tax deductions.

The Washington, D.C.-based tax policy group's research includes a cool interactive map so you can get an idea of where your county comes out when it comes to state and local write-offs on federal tax returns.

The darker the blue, the larger the tax amount claimed.
Click on the image to go to the Tax Foundation's interactive map.

The Tax Foundation's figures for each jurisdiction are the mean deduction amount taken per return. In other words, the tax policy group took the total of all of the deductions for state and local taxes and divided by number of returns filed.

"The results show that the benefits of these deductions vary substantially from county to county," writes Alan Cole, an economist with the Center for Federal Tax Policy at the Tax Foundation.

Texas tax deduction surprise: We don't pay any state or local income taxes here in Texas, but our sales taxes are federally deductible. So are our real estate taxes.

Personally, that annual Travis County property tax amount is the biggest Schedule A claim we take every filing season. We are not alone.

Every year when the property appraisals and subsequent tax bills based on those amounts go out, the local media is full of anguished tales of homeowners who, despite the federal tax break, say they are being priced out of their properties by high county taxes.

So I was stunned to discover that Travis County was not tops in tax claims for Central Texas. The average state and local tax amount claimed here per the Tax Foundation's map is $2,584. But Kendall Country residents to the southwest had a tax claim of $3,459.

That Hill Country county tax average actually is the highest in the state, besting Houston area's Fort Bend County claim of $3,301 and Dallas-area Collin County's $3,161.

Maybe the hubby and I should look into moving to my namesake county of Bell, two counties northeast, where the mean tax claim was just $863.

West, East coast deduction costs: However, all my Lone Star State neighbors and I have no real room to complain. We could live in California, Connecticut, New Jersey or New York.

I've visited all of those states. They were wonderful places. And I am sure there are many, many reasons to live full-time in those locales.

But they also have some of the highest state and local taxes in the nation. In fact, they dominate the Tax Foundation's top 10 when it comes to counties with high state and local tax deductions.

Top Ten Counties for State and Local Deductions
(2014 Internal Revenue Service and County Data)

New York County, New York	$24,898
Marin County, California	$16,956
San Mateo County, California	$15,405
Westchester County, New York	$14,787
Fairfield County, Connecticut	$14,262
Santa Clara County, California	$12,562
San Francisco County, California	$12,116
Nassau County, New York	$11,624
Morris County, New Jersey	$11,440
Somerset County, New Jersey	$11,267

Of course, these are averages. Taxes are intensely personal, so yours, even in a generally high-tax place, could be much lower.

And, as Cole notes:

"It is unclear which kinds of taxpayers would see their tax bills increase or decrease as a result of the president’s plan. There are many tax cuts in the plan, some of them for the same kind of wealthy filers these deductions typically benefit. However, it is clear that the distribution of this particular tax change would vary with geography."

So keep an eye on what happens with tax reform in the coming months. And just in case, keep a moving company's number handy.

You also might find these items of interest:

• It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tax collector!
• Buying a real car could boost your sales tax deduction
• 7 steps to take in appealing your home's appraised value

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Many Americans oppose Trump's tax plan and want to see the president's tax returns first

With last week's House passage of an Obamacare replacement measure, Republicans are jazzed again about redoing the U.S. tax code, too.

The GOP, however, might have some work to do beyond Capitol Hill. It seems that many Americans are not that impressed with Donald J. Trump's tax plan.

Not a warm reception: A Florida Atlantic University (FAU) nationwide online survey conducted just days after the White House's April 26 release of its tax plan found that 41 percent of respondents opposed it.

Only 34 percent supported it, while 25 percent were unsure.

Those who do support the Trump Administration's tax rewrite, which actually right now is more of an outline, tend to be older and wealthier.

Older, richer are more supportive: Those 50 years of age or older support the plan 41 percent to 39 percent, while those younger than 50 oppose it by a margin of 44 percent to 28 percent, according to FAU's Business and Economic Polling Initiative (BEPI).

Trump's tax proposal received 64 percent support from folks making more than $125,000, but only 46 percent of those earning $75,000 to $125,000 like it.

Only 16 percent of poll respondents who earn less than $25,000 are for the proposed tax changes.

Not fans of top tax rate cut: And while two-thirds of those surveyed said taxes were too high (28 percent said they were just about right and 5 percent said they were too low), they don't necessarily agree with the way Trump and the Republicans want to change the system.

More than 40 percent of those polled disagreed with the idea that lowering taxes for higher earners and corporations can stimulate the economy, leading to economic growth and greater wealth for everyone.

In fact, according to FAU's survey, roughly half of the respondents oppose the plan's call to reduce the top marginal tax bracket from 39.6 percent to 33 percent.

"Americans are a little bit skeptical of trickle-down economics," said Dr. Monica Escaleras, director of BEPI. "They don't believe cutting taxes to the wealthiest individuals and corporations will benefit households across all income levels."

Americans also are split on the proposal to repeal the 3.8 percent tax on investment income, which applies to individuals making $200,000 or more, $250,000 or more for married couples filing jointly. This so-called Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) was created under Obamacare and raised $18.3 billion in 2015 to help fund the Affordable Care Act.

Thirty-four percent who took the FAU poll support the NIIT, 37 percent oppose the surtax and 29 percent not sure.

Thumbs up for deductions: There is, however, more definitive support for some popular tax deductions.

The survey found 53 percent are for the Trump/GOP proposal to double the standard deduction that people can claim on their income tax returns.

And more than two-thirds of the FAU poll respondents support the continued deduction for mortgage interest.

Show up the tax returns: There's also a clear majority when it comes to the new Commander-in-Chief's personal returns.

Sixty-five percent of respondents said they would like to see Trump release his own tax information before he makes any changes to the tax code.

Since that's the most decisive percentage in the poll, that 65 percent who want at least a peek at Trump's 1040s is this week's By the Numbers figure.

Much tax change work to do: This is the second public opinion poll that finds many Americans are dubious about Trump's tax proposals.

The disparate tax reform opinions in the FAU poll also underscore a political reality that has bedeviled lawmakers for ages.

"Historically, Americans have had very different views on the best approaches and what makes the tax system equitable," said Dr. Kevin Wagner, associate professor of political science at FAU and a BEPI research fellow. "President Trump has a long way to go in order to convince Americans to follow the White House proposal."

Do you agree with what the FAU BEPI poll found? Which, if any, parts of the Trump tax plan do you support? Where do you think the White House and GOP need to do more work?

You also might find these items of interest:

• Happy 27th birthday tax reform
• Ways & Means chairman sees tax reform retroactive to start of 2017
• IRS commissioner talks tax reform, simplification and additional taxpayer digital options

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