I love taxation!

Last year I was given 100 shares of my God-forsaken company as part of my compensation. The vesting was to take place over 3 years, with 33, 33 and 34 shares respectively.

Now that a year has passed, the first installment has hit the account. Time for jubilation?

Hardly.

Let's look at the numbers.

33 shares gave me a taxable income of $1,777.05.

Now the taxes:

Federal tax = $470.11
SS Tax = $110.18
State = $25
Local = $130.61

In the end, the shares actually deposited to my account numbered 18, with 15 shares removed in lieu of taxes. This is even more enraging cz I may have made more money if I actually had the full amount of shares to sell or hold for appreciation. Surely, the taxes wouldn't go away but fuck -- even selling the shares and depositing the proceeds under 5% return would have offset the taxes somewhat.

But no - preventive taxation is at work. How fucking lovely.

In addition, the proceeds have been taxed forty five percent, which is much higher than my current tax bracket. If this is a short term capital gain tax, it's supposed to be calculated at my current income rate, which is way lower than 45%.

So what the fuck is this?