Posted on 02/22/2005 4:22:02 PM PST by groanup
December 6, 1996
Tis' the Season to be Taxed
by Peter Ferrara
Peter Ferrara is general counsel and chief economist at Americans for Tax Reform and an associate policy analyst at the Cato Institute.
On your way to grandmother's house this holiday season, paying taxes will probably be the last thing on your mind. But that is what you will be doing every step of the way.
First, when you get in your car to drive over, you probably don't realize that 45 percent of what you paid for the car actually went to the government in taxes at the federal, state and local levels, rather than to the car manufacturer. When you put gas in the car, you probably don't realize that 54 percent of what you pay for it goes to federal, state and local taxes rather than to the oil producer. For the tires on the car, 36 percent of what you paid goes to taxes rather than to the tire manufacturer.
Once you get to grandmother’s house, you're still not done paying taxes. If you have a little rum with your eggnog, 72 percent of the price paid for it actually goes to the government. The same goes for any other drink made with distilled spirits. If you have a beer instead, 43 percent of what you pay goes to taxes. And even if you just drink soda, 35 percent of what you pay for a can goes for taxes at all levels.
Once you sit down to dinner, the tax man is still there with you. About 31 percent of what you pay for bread goes to the government in taxes, rather than for the bread. About the same would be true for the turkey and the rest of the food. Unless you provide for heat and light solely through the fireplace, you will be paying taxes again. At least 26 percent of your electric bill goes to the government in taxes.
Don't think you can avoid any of these taxes by going out to a restaurant for Christmas dinner. About 28 percent of what you pay for a meal at a restaurant actually goes for taxes, rather than to the restaurant. Nor can you avoid the tax man by staying home and just calling grandma on Thanksgiving Day. That is because about 50 percent of your phone bill actually goes to taxes, rather than to the phone company.
This tax burden arises in part from taxes assessed directly on the consumer, such as state and local sales taxes, liquor excise taxes telephone excise taxes, federal and state gas taxes, food and beverage taxes, and others.
But that is just the beginning. The producer in each case must use what you pay for the product for a heavy tax burden as well, including federal, state and local income taxes, payroll taxes, property taxes, use taxes, unemployment insurance taxes, workers compensation taxes, corporate franchise taxes import fees, and others. In fact, 30 different taxes are imposed on the production and sale of a loaf of bread. The government imposes at least 43 taxes on the production and sale of a gallon of gas.
This is just another part of the excessive burden of taxes working people must bear. Overall, close to half or more of what working people earn ends up going to taxes rather than for their own families. The average family pays more for taxes today than for food, clothing and shelter combined.
This article originally appeared in the Washington Times.
Amen to that.
Gee that's all? There's reportedly 141 supporting KYOTO too, with the EU and the VAT folks all out for that one too.What does that have to do with anything? You're just setting up a straw man.
Quick googling suggests 25.In order of population:
China, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russia, Nigeria, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, Vietnam, Germany, Egypt, Turkey, Thailand, France, United Kingdom, Congo Republic, Italy, Korea, South, Ukraine, South Africa, Colombia, Spain, Sudan, Argentina, Poland, Tanzania, Kenya, Canada, Morocco, Algeria, Peru, Nepal, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Taiwan, Romania, Ghana, Australia, Sri Lanka, Mozambique, Madagascar, Cote d'Ivoire, Netherlands, Cameroon, Chile, Kazakhstan, Guatemala, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Ecuador, Zimbabwe, Mali, Malawi, Niger, Zambia, Senegal, Greece, Portugal, Belgium, Belarus, Czech Republic, Tunisia, Hungary, Chad, Guinea, Sweden, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Rwanda, Austria, Haiti, Azerbaijan, Switzerland, Benin, Bulgaria, Tajikistan, Honduras, El Salvador, Paraguay, Israel, Togo, Papua New Guinea, Nicaragua, Denmark, Slovakia, Finland, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Norway, Croatia, Moldova, Singapore, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Ireland, Lithuania, Albania, Uruguay, Mauritania, Panama, Armenia, Mongolia, Jamaica, Latvia, Macedonia, Namibia, Slovenia, Gabon, Estonia, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Iceland, Barbados, Netherlands Antilles, Vanuatu, Samoa
Court, What is the advantage to keeping the cost of government hidden from the governed?
"If you were to go thousands of levels deep into the supply chain, you would reach a point where accumulated taxes account for well over 99% of the price you would be paying."
Well over 99%?...Like 99.999999999999%?
AfterYOU make a statement like that you say I don't understand taxes and the supply chain?.....
HA! who's the fool in this picture?
Is the 125 list all the countries worldwide with a VAT tax? My 25 was in response to "How many countries in the EU".
That's impressive that you have access to data to compose a list like that. Is there a resource you're using that has other data about every country's tax system? If so, and if it's something I could access online, I'd really like to know the URL.
My 25 was in response to "How many countries in the EU".My bad.
That's impressive that you have access to data to compose a list like that. Is there a resource you're using that has other data about every country's tax system? If so, and if it's something I could access online, I'd really like to know the URL.Sorry, it's from a book called The Modern VAT by Ebrill, Keen, Bodin, and Summers. It's available on Amazon and they let you search it and browse a few pages at a time.
Indirect Tax Rates, VAT, GST, Tax, International - Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
Your statement, "Spending cuts will not happen, so GROWTH of our Economy will be the only way" really got me to thinking, and although it is true that growth in the economy would yield greater tax revenue, and offset the spending, it is not true that it would fix the problem. With socalist friendly tax systems in place, the government will grow right along with the economy, just making the problem worse. Big government THRIVES in good economies. The most socialist local governments in the US are in the states and cities with the biggest economies. When leeches find blood they latch on and get fat. Growing the economy is not going to restrict the federal government from metastacizing further into areas it does not belong. Something must be done to restrict government expansion aside from simply bettering the economy.
In fact, I would assert that independently improving the economic conditions without independently reducing the socialist conditions, would result in worsening the socialist conditions. However, independently reducing the socialist conditions will result directly in improving the economic conditions.
Revenue Neutral, I don't like that word...
I think I understand and agree with your position on this. I used it only to clarify a point of comparing different plans. You had made the statement "I just find the APT so much more spread out and less of a bite than a HUGE NRST", and I was aware it was possible you were making an apples to oranges comparison here, comparing a LOW apt tax to a HIGH sales tax. That comparison is appropriate if they both yield the same revenue, but if you are comparing a NRST which is revenue neutral to our existing sytem, to an APT TAX rate which is not revenue neutral, then the "Less bite" is not an effect of the form of taxation, but an effect of less revenue being collected. So for purposes of comparison, revenue neutrality is a necessity.
Thank you both for the links.
I'm getting a page not found error on that link, AG.
Indirect Tax Rates, VAT, GST, Tax, International - Deloitte Touche ...
... Global Indirect Tax Rates. Please use the alphabetic links below to access the
... Copyright ©2005 by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. All rights reserved. ...
www.deloitte.com/dtt/article/ 0,1002,sid%253D2959%2526cid%253D5028,00.html - 44k
Country Snapshots - Economic Data - Statistics - Tax - EIU - The ...
| Many factors influence a company's decision to do business overseas — to move personnel or outsource operations abroad. What’s the tax rate in Argentina? www.deloitte.com/dtt/section_node/ 0,1042,sid%253D11410,00.html - 53k |
"That's impressive that you have access to data to compose a list like that."
I would love to know what the relative sizes of other countries tax systems are. I have tried to find that for some time and can't locate a source. I would be willing to bet that no country on the planet has a tax system anywhere near the size and complexity of ours.
Makes YOU wonder how we got to where we are and why we're so much better off than anywhere else in thew world...
Of course, unlike almost anywhere else in the world, if you don't like it here you're free to go to wherever you think it might be better.
Are attempting to infer that America's greatness is due to the size and complexity of our tax system?
Ponder for a moment how much our GDP would have grown in the last 20 years with a national retail sales tax and no income tax. It sure sounds like ll is giving our income tax system a lot of credit for being pro growth.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.