Do you understand that businesses do not pay taxes? The cost of taxes is included in the price of products you buy before any state sales tax is added. That is, they send money to the government after they have collected it from their customers. This includes payroll, gains, etc. It like soup, its in there.
I think we all pay too much in taxes and the government is 5X larger than it should be. The government spends recklessly and with no accountability. We citizens do not seem to care. Part of the reason for the apathy is the lack of understanding about taxes and how much they actually affect everything. Tax burdens influence individual lives as well as all business and commerce in this country and the world. It is one of, if not the largest, consideration when companies choose their geographic location.
I am in commercial development, I know.
Many large businesses decide on the location of their next capital construction project and business venture based on what city will give them the largest incentivised tax break.
Taxes are a burden on everything and everyone. We must have some taxes and the government must collect something. Unfortunately we the people have very little control. We, as a populace, seem to accept the tax hike government behaviors in our egregious apathy.
The reason I say, quit taxing the businesses and make the citizens bear the full burden is because it would (hopefully) shock Americans into realizing the extreme burden we are under. As you say, you would rather pull money from your front pocket rather than have it picked from your rear. I believe that to be naive. If there is a tax burden built into the price of goods you are purchasing, it is hidden from you and you have no idea what you are paying in taxes buried in the cost of the product. If you are paying attention, you do know what the government is taking from you in income taxes.
Again, taxing businesses is a way to make people feel better about what they pay in taxes. Most don't realize that they are the ones paying the taxes for the businesses every time they purchase product. Taxing businesses is a way to hide the tax burden heaped upon the people. Withholding taxes from your paycheck is another brilliant way to hide the tax burden from people.
Our government is all to happy to keep ignorant consumers and workers in the dark about what they are actually paying in taxes. We throw around numbers like 30% or 45%. Imagine if you will if at the end of every year, instead of withholding our taxes, we received a bill. I bet the government would have a hard time collecting and folks would be outraged. Look what happens already when folks have to pay $4,0000 property tax bills. Can you imagine at the end of the year receiving a $25,000 bill from the government for your income taxes? Some do, don't get me wrong. But these are the folks that are paying attention anyway.