They could get a job. They had the same ability as me to do so. Take out some student loans, get experience, get an internship for more experience. Take shit entry level jobs. Change majors losing credits and taking 7 years to graduate. Work retail for 6 years while going to school.

The problem is that the business playing field is not equal. So because they have lese skills they get paid more? Can't you see how that doesn't really make sense? Maybe I can quit my job in the future but 48k after taxes ain't enough.

Let's say we have 2 identical businesses which have net income of 50k after self employment tax and deductions.

A is the only employment for the owner and B is owned by someone in the 22% tax bracket based off their day job. B will pay almost 12k in income tax while A pays about 6k.

A is more incentivized to start and run a business. A can be more price competitive with their products.

Let's say it takes 5k sales to net 50k profit before income tax ($10 per sale). Business B needs to do 800 more sales to make the same money as business A. And remember these are identical businesses so business B is also doing more work, 800 sales worth more, 13.7% more. So business B has an hourly pay rate that much less than business A.

So make myself get paid less in my career to essentially pay for part of every person's product so I can reduce prices and be able to compete on price with other businesses? Doesn't really make sense. It took 10 years to go to college and get started in my career.

My career and my business are separate but I am taxed as if they are not which hurts my business. That's my point.

Because of what I make working 9-5, the tax rate on my business income starts at 22%. Yes there are deductibles but it's a level playing field with competing businesses in that regard. Also, I'm still unclear about purchasing equipment in future years but there is a limit to how much you can write off for start up costs. For example, if I spent 50k on tools and equipment and such to start up, I can only deduct 5k the 1st year. I have to continue writing it off in chunks over the next handful of years.

Sure but it means I have to charge more to make the same profit as them.

I understand how it works, taking on a side job means that it effectively starts being taxed at 22%.

Depends on how you look at it. If I am competing with businesses making less than $44,725 then they pay 12% tax while I am paying 22-24%. They get an advantage as a result.

It was just a generic example, I am in 22% bracket. Thanks for the info, I wasn't able to find anything solid on this matter. Other commenters helped too. It's a bummer that my business is punished because of what I make working for someone else.

I'm aware of the 15.3 and that I can deduct half from the income tax.

There is no state tax here but a $25 yearly filing fee.

I'm an engineer developing unique products, if the price is estimated to be higher than I think the market will accept then I will not develop that product. 10% is the entire profit margin or more than for some businesses so I hope you can see why that makes a big difference.

Sure but the tax rate does start/stop/change. So my job puts me at 22% tax rate and so my business is automatically starting at 22% after deductions. If I made less money at my day job business income would only be taxed 10 or 12 percent. So I need to charge more per item to account for this.