Posted on 11/25/2009 1:06:58 PM PST by EBH
Happy Thanksgiving ...!?
As you finalize your Thanksgiving plans, be sure to reserve a seat at your table for an extra guest: Uncle Sam.
Have you ever asked yourself how much of the cost of your Thanksgiving feast is owed to the fact that the government takes a big bite at it in hidden taxes?
The Americans for Tax Reform Foundation and the Center for Fiscal Accountability have calculated just how big that government “tax bite” for Thanksgiving is, and it clocks in at a whopping 40.91 percent.
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the average cost for a Thanksgiving feast for ten lies at $42.91 in 2009. The menu items for a classic Thanksgiving dinner used for their survey include turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of carrots and celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and beverages of coffee and milk. Of that, of course, the turkey is the largest cost factor at an average price of $18.65 for a 16-pound bird.
Because Thanksgiving is a celebration, for our calculations, we also factored in five bottles of wine at an average price of $7.35, which brings the total cost of the average Thanksgiving feast to $79.67.
But not all of that reflects the actual cost of your meal – a large chunk of it is taken by the government in some form or another:
On top of the direct excise taxes on the wine, there are taxes paid by the farmers, winemakers, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and shippers, retailers, warehouses. To be more specific, out of what the consumer pays, the producers and sellers must pay federal income taxes, state income taxes, federal payroll taxes, unemployment insurance taxes, workmen’s compensation taxes, state franchise taxes, local property taxes and any local income taxes.
All told, for a Thanksgiving feast for a family of ten, the government takes a bite of 40.91 percent, or $32.59.
And that is only if your family does not have to drive or fly to get to the Thanksgiving party, or stay at a hotel for the duration of the festivities, as domestic airfare, gasoline, and hotel stays have their own “tax bites” which are even higher than the bite the government takes out of your Thanksgiving meal, and which we calculated last year.
thanks for the info but you forgot the tax on the antacids I will need after reading this :-)
I got a 22# bird for about $8 and change. Cheapest I can remember.
The average American pays at least 75%+ of their income in taxes, and this Thanksgiving Day meal example is a great illustration of why that is.
Fed Income tax 25%
State income tax 10%
Soc Sec 15% (includes “employer’s share”)
unemployment 5%
sales tax 8%
property tax 10% (conservatively)
subtotal 68%
hidden taxes 10% (conservatively incl lawsuit tax, etc)
total 78%
Although the hidden taxes in articles you buy are 40%, these purchases only account for 20% of your after-tax income. The average person spends about 25 - 30% of their GROSS income. The average person saves nothing. The government takes the rest, for which you get almost nothing.
The turkey’s pictured were fresh killed at a cost of approx $50 ea. http://www.raymondsturkeyfarm.net/
The Income tax is grossly inefficent in its effect and collection.
A simple FairTax consumption tax starting at 23% on RETAIL ITEMS ONLY (and adjustable each year by vote) will do the job of funding federal government much more efficiently and with much less pain and effect on business.
The Turkey dinners may have 40% embedded tax cost but on average every retail item and service has about 20% to 22% embedded cost (on average!). Now figure to eliminate those tax costs in retail and replace with an initial 23% consumption tax, with no more income tax paperwork for anyone and we will have price stability with hardly a change in prices from present levels (unless the current dollar collapse results in high inflation).
Each year your Congress members will vote on the retail tax rate, and if it is not less than last year’s rate, they better have a good excuse!
Isn't this what's called an economy? I mean, these producers and sellers need roads in order to ship their products. The stores enjoy having local fire and police departments around in case of trouble. Unemployment insurance enables the unemployed to buy turkeys. And a whole bunch of federal taxes enable us to fight the Taliban and al Qaeda so that Sharia law isn't inplemented in the US and we can actually drink those five bottles of modestly priced wine with our feast.
Nope, not in any economic definition I’ve seen:
market economy
A system of allocating resources based only on the interaction of market forces, such as supply and demand. A true market economy is free of governmental influence, collusion and other external interference.
So then in a “true” market economy, there would be only private roads, private police and fire services, private armies, etc, etc? It seems to me that in order not to have any government impact on an economy, there’d have to be absolutely no government at all, that is, anarcho-capialism.
free of governmental influence, collusion and other external interference.
not the same as no government
At least you weren't "Kramer'd" ...
40.91 Percent? That’s all?
What a bauguin.
The very existence of a government is going to influence an economy. I can't think of a single thing that a government (even the most hands-off one) does that would not in some way affect an economy.
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