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US Budget proposal – 2018.


US Budget 2018

          It’s been a little over a month ago since the U.S. Office of Management and Budget released a proposed blueprint for the 2018 budget . Comparing to the 2017 budget , largest cuts (in terms of the funding amount) would affect Health and Human Services, Agency for International Development (USAID), Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) *, and Agriculture departments. Departments of Defense, Veteran Affairs, and Homeland Security will be the largest beneficiaries of the new plan, all receiving a substantial boost in funding. To make this plan a reality, the Congress will have to approve this proposal next month, something that would be quite a hard sell based on the current reception of the budget.
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Where are the jobs? 2014 INC 5000 List might provide some answers…

2014 INC 5000 data viz

          What do Domino’s Pizza, Microsoft, Timberland, Tough Mudder, Intuit, Vermont Teddy Bear, E*Trade, Lending Club, Morningstar, Oracle, Fuhu, Cold Stone Creamery, Under Armour, and GoDaddy have in common? They all have appeared on Inc Magazine’s INC 500 list of the fastest-growing American private companies. Looking at the last year’s INC 5000 list might help us draw employment insights and identify best industries and places to look for a job. By definition, these company are experiencing tremendous growth, and as such, could be representative of future job opportunities in the US. In addition, according to Forbes , small businesses added over 65% of the net new jobs in the past two decades. So, where are the jobs?! Based on INC 5000 data, Chicago, IL employs over 5% [56,813] of all INC 5000 workers. Another 14% [144,847] of INC 5000 employees work in California. Top 3 industries by employment include: Human Resources, Business Products & Services, and IT Services . Together, they are responsible for almost 400,000 jobs, or 38% of the grand total.

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State Income Tax Rate Inequality in America.

USA State Tax Map

         Let’s face it, as Americans we are not all created equal. This fact is especially pronounced when it comes to paying taxes. Most of us have to pay income taxes, yet the exact amount varies by our income level. Having each individual state impose its own income tax laws does not help this matter either.

         The IRS already makes the task of figuring out your income tax liability rather cumbersome: you have to determine your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), subtract the amount of your deductions (standard or itemized), reduce this number by any personal and dependent exemptions you qualify for; and then hopefully arrive at your Taxable Income amount. After ignoring all of the other possible credits, exceptions and unique tax situations that might or might not apply to you, you can have a lot of fun playing with up to seven tax brackets that correspond to your earnings amount.

         I used the Tax Foundation website to retrieve pertinent state income tax information for 2014 tax year to see exactly how individual states add complexity in calculating our tax liability. I specifically wanted to retrieve maximum possible marginal tax rate by state in 2014. Below are my findings.

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