Free Republic

This year the Taxpayers’ Alliance (BdS) has focused on unprofitable businesses run by local governments in its annual “Black Book” of government waste—but still found space to name and shame some of the biggest money sinks in Germany. […] The BdS is campaigning for local administrations to limit themselves to infrastructure and basic services for their citizens in local ventures, rather than some of the luxury offerings including cinemas and spas from certain communes. That’s businesses like a saltwater fish farm in the Saarland, 600 kilometers from the sea, and a loss-making publicly-owned vineyard are in the organization’s sights. But...

Hawaii residents paid more state taxes in 2004 than residents of any other state in the country... Hawaii residents paid an average of $3,050 per person in 2004, while Texans paid the least — an average of $1,368. Every state but one collected more taxes per person in 2004 than it did a decade earlier... State taxpayer burdens increased by an average of 41 percent from 1994 to 2004. Only Alaska saw the amount it collects per person decline. Even when the numbers are adjusted for inflation, the individual tax burdens increased in 43 states. Rising education and Medicaid costs...

Taxes were up in the past 10 years for Maryland and Virginia residents, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, disappointing both lawmakers and anti-tax advocates. The tax burden in Virginia increased by 55 percent in that period, with a per capita amount of $1,903 in 2004. In Maryland, the tax burden increased by 46 percent, with an individual tax burden of $2,214 in 2004. The District's tax statistics are computed with cities' and local governments' financial data, which won't be available until April, the Census Bureau said.