I don't believe your story, but assuming it's real...
And rarely have I seen anyone more pissed off. This fella works aircraft and has been putting in 7-20 hours of overtime a week, week after week, for most of the year. Thought he was gonna be rich because "no taxes on overtime", right? WRONG-O MOOSE BREATH!!
Most people would notice a larger refund due to a rather substantial reduction in their taxable income. Individual circumstances will vary, of course, but generally speaking...
Overtime is time and a half, right?
Right.
Turns out you still gotta pay taxes on the "time" just not on the "half".
Correct. I will admit, given how it was marketed, that people could end up (understandably, to an extent) holding too high of expectations about this tax policy, incorrectly expecting "no taxes on the entirety of any overtime hours worked" rather than "no taxes on the premium portion of any overtime hours worked".
However, it's still a tax break for the "working class" and it's still a substantial amount, even if it's 1/3rd of what some people incorrectly thought it would be.
Silly fucker is beside himself becuase he worked himself into a higher tax bracket
Only the portion of his earnings that are within the next tax bracket are taxed at the higher tax rate. The rest of his earnings are still taxed at the lower tax rate(s).
and actually owes more than he did last year!!
There's so many different things that affect one's tax return, and I don't know his particular tax situation. All I know is that he'd be paying even MORE in taxes if not for the "no tax on overtime" policy. Also, a "smaller refund" doesn't mean that one "paid more in taxes", and of course one's taxable income is going to increase if one works more hours (and/or makes more money) than the prior year.
He is currently ready to burn tRump at the stake, figuratively I would assume, but he is really pissed off, lol.
It sounds like he's misdirecting his anger (and probably not understanding how his taxes are calculated).
But again, I don't believe your story to begin with.