Members dropping favorites

[CallMeWilliam]

I believe it has to do with your age and whether or not you are a dependent. I don't know exactly how it works, but I had to pay the self-employed fine too, until the age of 24 I believe. I think this year will be the first year I won't have to. It's pretty jacked.

If you are talking about the self-employment tax there is no age restriction that I was told of so you will be paying it till you are not self-employed. The reason it (self-employment tax) is so much is because you are both employee and employer so you have to pay your portion and the Social Security and Medicare portion your employer would normally. This from a couple of friends of mine who are self-employed in the USA who explained taxes to be briefly, not sure if each state adds on to this of course.

 

[HiGirlsRHot]

As independent contractors, cam girls are required to pay all normal taxes plus the employers share of the payroll taxes, medicare, social security tax. Currently payroll taxes are 7.65% for employers. In 2013, the 6.2% social security taxes limit is capped at $113,700. So high earning cam girls see their social security taxes reduced by 12.4% (6.2% X 2) once they make above that level. Medicare taxes are 1.4% for all incomes. Various Obamacare taxes kick in for singles over $200,000 and married couples over $250,000, but AFAIK there NOT any additional taxes for independent contractors beyond the payroll taxes. My understanding is that each state has it is own rules regarding independent contractors and unemployment insurance, which is something normally paid by employers, but generally independent contractors don't pay into the fund nor are the covered by UE insurance.

Still even a cam score of 1000 is an hourly wage well above minimum wage ($15-$18) if my calculation are correct and not too far below the US average wage of $23.33/hour. The top rank models have hourly rates that rival doctors and lawyers.

There is all more opportunity for camgirls to minimize taxes by receiving gifts. The law is pretty grey on the area and so if your cyber boyfriend buys you a Xmas present it can be plausibly argued that this is a gift and not income. Most people don't receive rather expensive gifts from folks they have never met year round so it is a pretty good benefit. Technically Amazon gift certificates for videos or skype shows, or raffle tickets, payooner, paypal should all be treated as income, but my guess is that vast majority of girls don't report them as such and the ability of the IRS to catch you is limited at best.

There is an excellent thread over on Stripper Web http://www.stripperweb.com/forum/showthread.php?169003-Taxes-is-camming-still-worth-it. Melonie is extraordinarily knowledgeable on taxes and I'd trust her more than most accountants.

 

[bud9752]

remember that models have to pay taxes on their incomes and,correct me if I'm wrong, MFC doesn't do any withholding of Fed,state or Social Security(FICA) so anywhere from 20-50% of that big number you are speculating on goes(must be set aside) to/for the various TAX agencies from the models paycheck, not to mention no retirement account or medical coverage other than what they personally pay for.

unless a model actually tells us(the perving community) what they actually make on an average per month it is just rumors and propaganda. (also, really not any of our business) :twocents-02cents:

and back to reality - EVERYONE pays the same taxes at the same rate. If you earn over a certain threshold, you may pay a higher rate of tax on earnings over that threshold, but we all pay the taxes.

You can equate how much a model makes per month to how much I make per month... because we both pay taxes on those earnings.

So the point is relatively pointless as we are all in the same boat. Unless you don't declare your earnings of course. Then God help you :

Zoomer your tax liabilities are different than most Cam Models unless you are an Independent Contractor or self employed, see below, self employed individuals are responsible for ALL the Tax obligations normally paid by the company (most employees never even know what they are really earning and not being "taxed" on) for people with "regular" jobs at any business, on your pay statement you normally only see the Fed income Tax withholding, The STATE income TAX withholding and FICA (Social Security and Medicare), all the business matching contributions are normally never seen by the worker.

As independent contractors, cam girls are required to pay all normal taxes plus the employers share of the payroll taxes, medicare, social security tax. Currently payroll taxes are 7.65% for employers. In 2013, the 6.2% social security taxes limit is capped at $113,700. So high earning cam girls see their social security taxes reduced by 12.4% (6.2% X 2) once they make above that level. Medicare taxes are 1.4% for all incomes. Various Obamacare taxes kick in for singles over $200,000 and married couples over $250,000, but AFAIK there NOT any additional taxes for independent contractors beyond the payroll taxes. My understanding is that each state has it is own rules regarding independent contractors and unemployment insurance, which is something normally paid by employers, but generally independent contractors don't pay into the fund nor are the covered by UE insurance.

Still even a cam score of 1000 is an hourly wage well above minimum wage ($15-$18) if my calculation are correct and not too far below the US average wage of $23.33/hour. The top rank models have hourly rates that rival doctors and lawyers.

There is all more opportunity for camgirls to minimize taxes by receiving gifts. The law is pretty grey on the area and so if your cyber boyfriend buys you a Xmas present it can be plausibly argued that this is a gift and not income. Most people don't receive rather expensive gifts from folks they have never met year round so it is a pretty good benefit. Technically Amazon gift certificates for videos or skype shows, or raffle tickets, payooner, paypal should all be treated as income, but my guess is that vast majority of girls don't report them as such and the ability of the IRS to catch you is limited at best.

There is an excellent thread over on Stripper Web http://www.stripperweb.com/forum/showthread.php?169003-Taxes-is-camming-still-worth-it. Melonie is extraordinarily knowledgeable on taxes and I'd trust her more than most accountants.

 

[UncleThursday]

the US average wage of $23.33/hour.

What economist came up with THAT wage as the average wage in the US? I am going to go outside, find a big, heavy fallen branch, carve "reality stick" on it, and beat him with it.

Then I'm going to steal the drugs he was on, because they have to be some good shit. Then I'm also going to find the golden egg laying pink unicorn, that has the voice of God coming from its lips. Because, in all honesty, that's the only ass that number came out of.

And if the government came up with that number, then they're doing what the government always does to make things not seem as bad as they are: THEY LIE.

Unemployment is high in the US. Don't believe the government's stating it is only at 7.7% as of November... because that doesn't mean everyone who is no longer collecting unemployment benefits has found a job. Many of them simply ran out of unemployment time, and are still unemployed. But, to the government, those people magically disappear. All those number mean is the percentage of people still collecting benefits. It does not mean more jobs have been filled, or created.

The underemployment numbers, though, are even more frightening than the unemployed. Millions of US workers are stuck working low wage jobs, because there isn't anything else out there. The retail industry pays very low, but has a ton of people working it. Many jobs that used to be able to pay for a family in the blue collar sector now pay absolute shit, and far below that supposed $22.33/hour average wage. Workers all over the country are being told they have to take a pay cut every day, or lose their job with no severance pay (while the company big wigs give themselves even more money, mind you). Many white collar jobs also have been shipped overseas, forcing the people in them to go find lower paying jobs, if they can.

My brother is a perfect example of being underemployed. He works with me, in our cheap paying metal shop. He has a 4 year degree, but had to settle for the shit I get paid because the jobs in his field either weren't there, or wanted him to drive 75 miles, one way, to do researcher work while getting paid as a lab tech. I'm underemployed, too. I should easily be making close to the supposed average wage you speak of with my experience. But, no jobs are paying it. Between the two of us, we make just over that supposed average income per hour. Yes, between 2 people, in a multi-million dollar making company (our shop alone pumps out almost $4 million/month on average, and there's more across the country as well as in Europe for our company), we make just over that supposed average hourly wage.

And we're not alone. Millions of Americans are stuck facing the same issue, or worse. Where the only way to get to that average is to add up the incomes of multiple people.

Open up your local classified/want ads. Tell me how many jobs are paying $22.33 an hour or very close. That number is going to be very close to, if not 0, I'm sure.

It's an employer's market out there. And they know it. They know people in the US are desperate for income, and that they can get people to work for very low wages because of how bad the job market is right now. All the while, the corporate executives are laughing all the way to the bank.

So, no, the average wage in the US is probably nowhere near $22.33 an hour. If it was, we wouldn't see all the problems with foreclosure, etc. running rampant in this country.

The US is quickly turning into a third world country of haves and have nots. And if things stay the way they are, it will happen faster than anyone truly expects.

 

[Nordling]

Average GDP is a meaningless number anyway. The question is, what is the MEDIAN income? Averages can be skewed by all kinds of skips and bumps.

 

[UncleThursday]

Average GDP is a meaningless number anyway. The question is, what is the MEDIAN income? Averages can be skewed by all kinds of skips and bumps.

Very true. Even with all the unemployed and underemployed in the US, once you add in the corporate executives and their high salaries and millions in bonuses, suddenly, the average income shoots up.

 

[HiGirlsRHot]

the US average wage of $23.33/hour.

What economist came up with THAT wage as the average wage in the US? I am going to go outside, find a big, heavy fallen branch, carve "reality stick" on it, and beat him with it.

Then I'm going to steal the drugs he was on, because they have to be some good shit. Then I'm also going to find the golden egg laying pink unicorn, that has the voice of God coming from its lips. Because, in all honesty, that's the only ass that number came out of.

And if the government came up with that number, then they're doing what the government always does to make things not seem as bad as they are: THEY LIE.

I actually I was reading the wrong date; according the Bureau of Labor statistics the correct preliminary figure for Nov 2012 $23.63.
http://bit.ly/UWTVm0. I could write a book length post on the problems that result from the archaic way our government collects and interprets data but I won't. Actually, IMO the BLS data collection methodology for wage data is pretty decent. (I happen to agree with you; the way the unemployment rate is calculated is more voodoo than science and the real unemployment rate is way worse than 7.7%).

That said this is an average figure not a median. People without jobs don't impact the average wage rate. A few investment bankers, class action lawyer, A Rod, LeBrons, Patton Mannings, Tom Cruise, and yes Aspen Raes, and Ginny Potters push up the average.

You can sanity check the number pretty simply. The median household income in the US has been stagnating at $50,000 for several years. A 40 hour/week for 50 weeks = 2,000 hours $50,000/2,000 hours = $25/hour close enough for government work. (I know this is not a apples to apples comparison but it is a decent sanity check.)

I completely agree with you that is hard to find $20 hour jobs in most parts of the country. However my friends in Silicon Valley all tell me they have a hard time filling engineering positions at salaries that work out to be $50-$75 an hour.

 

[UncleThursday]

I actually I was reading the wrong date; according the Bureau of Labor statistics the correct preliminary figure for Nov 2012 $23.63.
http://bit.ly/UWTVm0. I could write a book length post on the problems that result from the archaic way our government collects and interprets data but I won't. Actually, IMO the BLS data collection methodology for wage data is pretty decent. (I happen to agree with you; the way the unemployment rate is calculated is more voodoo than science and the real unemployment rate is way worse than 7.7%).

That said this is an average figure not a median. People without jobs don't impact the average wage rate. A few investment bankers, class action lawyer, A Rod, LeBrons, Patton Mannings, Tom Cruise, and yes Aspen Raes, and Ginny Potters push up the average.

Which is the problem with averages, in cases like this. Like say a company has 100 employees, all getting paid $10/hour. The average is $10/hour. But then add in the big wig bringing in however many millions from his salary and bonuses, and that average hourly rate just for that company could shoot up to $50+ an hour, even though only one person in the company makes that much.

You can sanity check the number pretty simply. The median household income in the US has been stagnating at $50,000 for several years. A 40 hour/week for 50 weeks = 2,000 hours $50,000/2,000 hours = $25/hour close enough for government work. (I know this is not a apples to apples comparison but it is a decent sanity check.)

I completely agree with you that is hard to find $20 hour jobs in most parts of the country. However my friends in Silicon Valley all tell me they have a hard time filling engineering positions at salaries that work out to be $50-$75 an hour.

Except household income seldomly means a one income family, anymore. So if the median household income has stagnated, with 2 people bringing in income, then it actually means the median wage per person is $12.50 an hour.

And while, yes, there are jobs that pay a lot, they're few and far between. Basically places like Google, Microsoft, Apple... which is why your Silicon Valley friends have a hard time filling their positions. Frankly, the majority of workers in the US simply could not do the work they require for those positions. And the people that could do them are often snatched up right out of college.

The health field used to be a good choice. Not anymore. Hospitals, assisted living centers, etc. are all going for the Filipino nurses, anymore. Which is why my mother has been out of a job for years. She's an RN, with 30 years experience (both military-- retired Lt. Col.-- and civilian) and keeps herself up to date on her certifications. But the Filipino RNs (most of whom are truly barely qualified to be LPNs...) work for less money.

Or there's the other problem my brother faced. Positions in his field (physics) wanted a 4 year degree, which he has, and 5+ years experience to pay what he should be making. The problem being that no one hires at entry level researcher, really. So, while he has the degree, he has no experience in that job market. And since no one hires entry level... it quickly escalated for him into a catch 22. He needs the job to get the experience, but he can't get the job without the experience.

Third world, here we come.

 

[LadyLuna]

Or there's the other problem my brother faced. Positions in his field (physics) wanted a 4 year degree, which he has, and 5+ years experience to pay what he should be making. The problem being that no one hires at entry level researcher, really. So, while he has the degree, he has no experience in that job market. And since no one hires entry level... it quickly escalated for him into a catch 22. He needs the job to get the experience, but he can't get the job without the experience.

When I had a look at the "entry level" accounting jobs, I saw the same thing. They were listed as entry level, but they wanted 5 years of experience. People ask "why did you stop with accounting?" Because I wouldn't have been able to use it anyway.

The people at the top *really* need to stop giving themselves pay increases while they cut their employee's paychecks. You're only supposed to get a pay raise if your company can afford to increase employee wages, and hire a few more workers, on top of the pay raise you want to give yourself. They keep cutting salaries and raising prices, and wonder why no one's buying enough to keep our economy going anymore.

As to camgirl taxes, I remember having to add in my net profit, then having to add in half of my gross profit on top of the net profit before doing the multiplication for the self-employment taxes. Then I had to do normal taxes on the net profits and add the two numbers. I was like, "I'm having to pay social security and unemployment on 2.5 times my profits? WTF?" I did *not* put enough away. x.x

 

[curvyredhead]

First of all---very cool that this thread turned into something worth reading.

2nd--Yes a 1000 cam score model makes $15-$18 an hour---but that does not say how many hours she works....same goes or any cam score.

3rd--Ladies, on the point of saving---If you have the means--there are many ways to SAVE that also greatly impact how much in taxes you will actually be paying come the beginning of the year. I good example of this are Retirement accounts. Many IRA plans such as Roth's make significant.

I am no where near a top earning, but I suspect I make just under or an average MFC wage--based on cam score and how much time I put in. (who knows tho, I could be way off).

Between my retirement accounts, making sure I right everything I possible can off (camming related of course), and my student loans---I have yet to have to put anything back into the system.


4th--Yes, I totally agree that most members are entirely clueless to the fact that we have to pay additional taxes on the nickles they give us.----But, more importantly---I think many models are too

 

[UncleThursday]

Or there's the other problem my brother faced. Positions in his field (physics) wanted a 4 year degree, which he has, and 5+ years experience to pay what he should be making. The problem being that no one hires at entry level researcher, really. So, while he has the degree, he has no experience in that job market. And since no one hires entry level... it quickly escalated for him into a catch 22. He needs the job to get the experience, but he can't get the job without the experience.

When I had a look at the "entry level" accounting jobs, I saw the same thing. They were listed as entry level, but they wanted 5 years of experience. People ask "why did you stop with accounting?" Because I wouldn't have been able to use it anyway.

The people at the top *really* need to stop giving themselves pay increases while they cut their employee's paychecks. You're only supposed to get a pay raise if your company can afford to increase employee wages, and hire a few more workers, on top of the pay raise you want to give yourself. They keep cutting salaries and raising prices, and wonder why no one's buying enough to keep our economy going anymore.

As to camgirl taxes, I remember having to add in my net profit, then having to add in half of my gross profit on top of the net profit before doing the multiplication for the self-employment taxes. Then I had to do normal taxes on the net profits and add the two numbers. I was like, "I'm having to pay social security and unemployment on 2.5 times my profits? WTF?" I did *not* put enough away. x.x

Yeah, a lot of the positions he applied for said entry level... with wanting 5 years experience. 5 years experience is not entry level.

And, you're right, Luna. When it comes to pay cuts, the cuts should start at the top (where they'll save the most money anyway) and then work their way down. Cut bonuses to the top, cut salaries to the top, and then if there still needs to be more, move down the food chain a notch at a time until it becomes unnecessary. Telling the bottom of the pyramid they're the ones that need to suffer, while the top of it reaps even more rewards is going to kill more companies, in the long run, and flush our economy even further down the shitter.

 

[HiGirlsRHot]

Except household income seldomly means a one income family, anymore. So if the median household income has stagnated, with 2 people bringing in income, then it actually means the median wage per person is $12.50 an hour.

And while, yes, there are jobs that pay a lot, they're few and far between. Basically places like Google, Microsoft, Apple... which is why your Silicon Valley friends have a hard time filling their positions. Frankly, the majority of workers in the US simply could not do the work they require for those positions. And the people that could do them are often snatched up right out of college.

The health field used to be a good choice. Not anymore. Hospitals, assisted living centers, etc. are all going for the Filipino nurses, anymore. Which is why my mother has been out of a job for years. She's an RN, with 30 years experience (both military-- retired Lt. Col.-- and civilian) and keeps herself up to date on her certifications. But the Filipino RNs (most of whom are truly barely qualified to be LPNs...) work for less money.

Or there's the other problem my brother faced. Positions in his field (physics) wanted a 4 year degree, which he has, and 5+ years experience to pay what he should be making. The problem being that no one hires at entry level researcher, really. So, while he has the degree, he has no experience in that job market. And since no one hires entry level... it quickly escalated for him into a catch 22. He needs the job to get the experience, but he can't get the job without the experience.

Third world, here we come.

Actually there is 1.2 to 1.3 workers per household (how you count unemployed matters.) For example my immediate family has 13 people, in 6 households, but there are only 2 full time and 3 part time workers since so many of us are retired (quite young in my case).

I take it you and your brother are relatively young. Historically people do earn a lot more money as they get older up until about 55 and which point pay plateaus. A good example is teachers; entry level teachers make 30-40K which is about $18-$25/hour, but senior teachers make 60-80K and admins even more. A double or tripling of salary for experience is pretty common across both public and private sector careers. A very high percentage of Americans have at some point made more than 50K/year in their jobs.


It has always been challenging to find a job in a field like physics (one of the reasons I switched to engineering) without a master degree, and even harder with the cut backs in higher education. Still, I'm completely sympathetic to anybody under 30 and also anybody over 55 trying to find a job right now, it is far far worse than anything I ever faced and really as bad as the depression era challenges my grandparents faced. When I was hiring sure we'd ask for 5 years experience and the right degree but we'd settle for a new grad with good grades, and relevant summer job. Now days employers don't have to settle and they don't. In the past with a little luck, persistence, and ya sometimes a year or two waiting tables or selling shoes, most people eventually broke into their career path. Now days it is a huge struggle to do so; which is why 1/2 of recent college grads can't find jobs that need college degrees. How we get young people out of the fast food jobs on to real careers is one the biggest challenge the US and Europe faces.

Camming is strange career in the age hurts your earning potential,(I'd guess that camscores for 30 years olds are worse than 18-29 years old models) and there probably isn't even that much benefit to experience beyond a couple of years. Although I certainly could be wrong about that benefit of experience.

The good news is that camming does give young woman an opportunity to make a living wage. It is gratifying to hear that camgirls like curvyredhead are taking advantage of retirement accounts like IRAs to save for the future, and while minimizing taxes is an important aspect of financial planning it is only one piece of the puzzle. Perhaps this should be a separate thread. I have a fair amount of knowledge on the subject if anybody cares.

 

[UncleThursday]

I take it you and your brother are relatively young. Historically people do earn a lot more money as they get older up until about 55 and which point pay plateaus. A good example is teachers; entry level teachers make 30-40K which is about $18-$25/hour, but senior teachers make 60-80K and admins even more. A double or tripling of salary for experience is pretty common across both public and private sector careers. A very high percentage of Americans have at some point made more than 50K/year in their jobs.


It has always been challenging to find a job in a field like physics (one of the reasons I switched to engineering) without a master degree, and even harder with the cut backs in higher education. Still, I'm completely sympathetic to anybody under 30 and also anybody over 55 trying to find a job right now, it is far far worse than anything I ever faced and really as bad as the depression era challenges my grandparents faced. When I was hiring sure we'd ask for 5 years experience and the right degree but we'd settle for a new grad with good grades, and relevant summer job. Now days employers don't have to settle and they don't. In the past with a little luck, persistence, and ya sometimes a year or two waiting tables or selling shoes, most people eventually broke into their career path. Now days it is a huge struggle to do so; which is why 1/2 of recent college grads can't find jobs that need college degrees. How we get young people out of the fast food jobs on to real careers is one the biggest challenge the US and Europe faces.

I'm 38. He turns 32 on xmas day.

I've never made cose to $50k in a year. He was literally out of a job from the time he graduated college until I got him the job with me earlier this year. He couldn't find a job, because employers were afraid the moment the economy picked up and something in his field came along, he'd drop them like an old hat. He was overqualified for every job he applied for. The only reason he has the job with me is because I work there.

My retirement is non-existant, because I simply don't make enough to save for one and never have. I'll be working poor until the day I die at this rate. And I suspect there a millions of other Americans who are in the same boat, no matter their age.

And that's just the way the haves would love to keep it.