[G. K. TEMUJIN]

Mr. Rooftop says :

Tax his land, Tax his bed, Tax the table At which he's fed.

Tax his tractor, Tax his mule, Teach him Taxes Are the rule.

Tax his work, Tax his pay, He works for peanuts Anyway!

Tax his cow, Tax his goat, Tax his pants, Tax his coat.

Tax his ties, Tax his shirt, Tax his work, Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco, Tax his drink, Tax him if he Tries to think.

Tax his cigars, Tax his beers, If he cries, then Tax his tears.

Tax his car, Tax his gas, Find other ways to Tax his ass. Tax all he has Then let him know That you won't be done Till he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers, then
Tax him some more, Tax him till He's good and sore.

Then tax his coffin, Tax his grave, Tax the sod under Which he's laid.

Put these words upon his tomb, " Taxes drove me to my doom..."

When he's gone, Do not relax, Its time to apply The inheritance tax.

Accounts Receivable Tax Building Permit Tax CDL license Tax Cigarette Tax Corporate Income Tax Dog License Tax Federal Income Tax Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) Fishing License Tax Food License Tax Fuel Permit Tax Gasoline Tax (42 cents per gallon) Gross Receipts Tax Hunting License Tax Inheritance Tax Inventory Tax IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax) Liquor Tax Luxury Taxes Marriage License Tax Medicare Tax Property Tax Real Estate Tax Service Charge Tax Social Security Tax Road UsageTax Sales Tax Recreational Vehicle Tax School Tax State Income Tax State Unemployment Tax (SUTA) Telephone Federal Excise Tax Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax Telephone State and Local Tax Telephone Usage Charge Tax Utility Taxes Vehicle License Registration Tax Vehicle Sales Tax Watercraft Registration Tax Well Permit Tax Workers Compensation Tax Hotel/Motel Tax ON AND ON............

FEDERAL TAXES
STATE TAXES
COUNTY TAXES
CITY , TOWN , VILLAGE TAXES


STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY ?



Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and America was the most prosperous in the world.

America had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What in the hell happened? Can you spell " politicians and those who control them "

And You still have to "Press 1" for English !?!?!?!?

America will soon fall apart unless it mends
it's ways !!!

[Willie Bee]

Originally Posted by G. K. TEMUJIN

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and America was the most prosperous in the world...America will soon fall apart unless it mends it's ways !!!

Entertaining and even somewhat educational post, G.K. But it is a bit silly to compare much of what's going on today to what was happening 100 years ago. True, we citizens didn't have a tax debt to the feds, states and local municipalities. But then, indoor plumbing was still considered an enormous luxury, you could pay off your medical bill with eggs and produce and there was hardly any regulation of commerce and industry. We had roughly 210 million fewer people crowding this land as well, and the idea that just about every American above age 18 would own their own mechanized transportation was a laughable concept.

No sir, it's not the taxes that are the problem, it's how the revenue earned from taxes is spent (i.e., wasted). I'd be willing to pay even a bit more each year if I knew it was going to be put to good use.

[G. K. TEMUJIN]

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/oct2007/usa-o16.shtml

Social inequality in US hits new record

By Bill Van Auken

16 October 2007

The Internal Revenue Service issued a report last week documenting record levels of social inequality in the United States. According to the data released by the IRS, America’s wealthiest 1 percent accounted for 21 percent of all income in 2005, while the bottom 50 percent earned just 12.8 percent of the total national income.

While the share of income taken in by the wealthiest 1 percent rose steeply—up three points from 19 percent in 2004—the share for the half of the population at the bottom of the economic ladder fell during the same period by 0.6 percent.

The IRS data, published in the Wall Street Journal last Friday, are based on “adjusted gross income” reflected in tax returns for 2005. This measure provides a starker and more accurate picture than other indices of the staggering polarization between wealth and poverty in America.

It records individual income after deductions for such expenses as alimony or individual retirement accounts, and includes capital gains, a major source of income for the very rich. It also breaks down the figures relating to the wealthiest social layers, spelling out the obscene levels of income raked in by the top 1 percent and top 0.1 percent, as opposed to other reports that lump this relative handful of multimillionaires and billionaires together with average figures for the top 10 percent.

The share claimed by this wealthiest layer has now surpassed the previous record recorded during the stock market boom of the 1990s. And, while the IRS has kept such data only since 1986, it is believed that the present percentage of the national income going to this layer is higher than at any time since the period that preceded the Wall Street crash of 1929 and the Great Depression.

Even George W. Bush is compelled to acknowledge the prevalence of social inequality in America. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the president said, “First of all, our society has had income inequality for a long time.” By way of explanation, Bush, the offspring of a family worth many millions, declared, “Skills gaps yield income gaps.”

The Wall Street Journal was more candid than the president, acknowledging that while the IRS did not spell out the source of rising income for the wealthy, the “boom on Wall Street has likely played a part.”

The newspaper went on to point out the enormous accumulation of wealth on Wall Street itself, citing a recent study from the University of Chicago showing that twice as many Wall Street executives count themselves in the top 0.5 percent income bracket as their counterparts in other sectors of the economy. One of the authors of the study, Joshua Rauh, told the Journal, “It’s hard to escape the notion” that the increasing monopolization of wealth at the top is a “Wall Street, financial industry-based story.”

Summarizing the study, the Journal reported that “the highest-earning hedge-fund manager earned double in 2005 what the top earner made in 2003, and the top 25 hedge-fund managers earned more in 2004 than the chief executives of all the companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index combined.” The study also found “profits per equity partner at the top 100 law firms doubling between 1994 and 2004, to over $1 million in 2004 dollars.”

The data released by the IRS indicated that the minimum annual income needed to make it into the top 1 percent rose 3 percent between 2000 and 2005 to $364,647.

On the opposite end of the social scale, the median income of tax filers had fallen 2 percent between 2000 and 2005 to just $30,881, with fully half of the population struggling to get by on less than that.

Earlier data released by the US Census Bureau established that every section of the population outside of the top 5 percent saw their real income fall between 2000 and 2005.
According to one recent study, while real income for the bottom 90 percent of the population fell by 11 percent between 1973 and 2005, those in the top .01 percent bracket, comprising some 14,000 households with annual incomes averaging nearly $13 million, saw their take increase by 250 percent over the same period.

What emerges from the data are the effects of a long-standing social policy involving a massive transfer of wealth from working people, the great majority of the population, to a handful of the super-wealthy, who have enriched themselves at the expense of the rest of society.

This is not merely an American, but rather a global policy that has been carried out on the backs of the working class of every country. A study released last week by the Boston Consulting Group found that the world’s 9.6 million millionaires—comprising just 0.7 percent of the earth’s population—now control $33.2 trillion in wealth—roughly a third of all the wealth in the world. According to the study, the world’s wealthiest 0.1 percent—those with $5 million or more in financial assets—now owns 17.5 percent of global wealth.

Meanwhile, half of the world’s population—some 3 billion people—live on less than $2 a day.

The social cost of this vast accumulation of wealth by the financial elite grows daily. A report issued last week by the Center for Economic and Policy Research and the Center for Social Policy at the University of Massachusetts in Boston found that 41 million working families in America—one in five—are unable to cover the costs of basic necessities with the money they earn working for low pay and no benefits.

The study found that many of these workers are ineligible for federal support in the form of child care assistance, the Earned Income Tax Credit, Food Stamps, housing assistance, Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. Eligibility for such assistance has been steadily tightened by federal and state governments.

The demagogy of the current crop of Democratic presidential candidates about defending the “middle class” notwithstanding, these policies have been enacted by Democratic and Republican administrations alike. The growth of income inequality in America has continued unbroken since 1973, spurred by the high-interest-rate, recessionary policies enacted by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker—Democratic President Jimmy Carter’s appointee—with the deliberate aim of driving up unemployment, slashing wages and unleashing a big business offensive against the working class.

It was under the Clinton administration that the top 1 percent set their previous record share of the national income—20.8 percent in 2000, Clinton’s last year in the White House. This was up from about 14 percent when he first took office.

The increased concentration of wealth was fueled by the Democratic administration’s deregulation of the financial markets, which spurred the financial bubble of the ‘90s that gave rise to much of today’s financial elite. At the other end of the social ladder, the Clinton White House carried out a ruthless war against the working class and poor, carrying through its pledge to “end welfare as we know it” and slashing other areas of social spending.


From the beginning of the Bush administration, the Democrats have helped pass round after round of tax cuts for the rich, running into the trillions of dollars. Even a limited proposal to close a tax loophole that has allowed hedge and equity fund managers earning hundreds of millions of dollars a year to pay a lower tax rate than a bus driver or an office worker was shelved earlier this month by the Democratic Senate leadership, in deference to the party’s well-heeled contributors on Wall Street.

The inequality that pervades every facet of American society inevitably finds its expression within the Democratic Party, which, while posturing as the party of the people, remains a political instrument of the ruling financial elite. Among the Democratic candidates, the three front-runners—Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards—are all millionaires.

Roughly half of the US Senate is made up millionaires, many of them Democrats. The House, meanwhile, is led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who in her latest financial disclosure forms reported that she and her investor husband conducted some 30 stock sales and purchases last year, many of them involving sums up to $1 million each. She also reported owning a California vineyard, valued between $5 million and $25 million.

The Democrats will do no more to reverse the growth of social inequality than they will to end the war in Iraq. In the final analysis, the explosion of militarism abroad and the destruction of working class living standards at home are two sides of a common political agenda aimed at funneling the wealth of the US and the world into the coffers of a financial oligarchy.

[Willie Bee]

Slow news day?

[G. K. TEMUJIN]

An individual's marginal income tax bracket depends upon their income and their tax-filing classification. As of 2006, there are six tax brackets for ordinary income (ranging from 10% to 35%) and four classifications: single, married filing jointly (or qualified widow or widower), married filing separately, and head of household.
Marginal Tax Rate Single Married Filing Jointly or Qualified Widow(er) Married Filing Separately Head of Household
10% $0 – $7,550 $0 – $15,100 $0 – $7,550 $0 – $10,750
15% $7,551 – $30,650 $15,101 – $61,300 $7,551 – $30,650 $10,751 – $41,050
25% $30,651 – $74,200 $61,301 – $123,700 $30,651 – $61,850 $41,051 – $106,000
28% $74,201 – $154,800 $123,701 – $188,450 $61,851 – $94,225 $106,001 – $171,650
33% $154,801 – $336,550 $188,451 – $336,550 $94,226 – $168,275 $171,651 – $336,550
35% $336,551+ $336,551+ $168,276+ $336,551+

Pay Up Suckers

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Are we having fun yet ???

well on top of all the taxes above, more below.


List of taxes and fees

Taxes and fees imposed by federal, state or local laws. The Internal Revenue Code (title 26 of the United States Code) lists taxes and "fees" such as:
Accounts receivable tax
Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)
Building permit tax
Capital gains tax
CDL license tax
Cigarette tax
Corporate income tax
Court fines (indirect taxes)
Dog license tax
Estate Tax
Excise tax
Federal income tax
Federal unemployment tax (FUTA)
FICA tax
Fishing license tax



Food license tax
Fuel permit tax
Gasoline tax (42 cents per gallon)
Generation Skipping Tax
Gift tax
Hunting license tax
Inheritance tax interest expense (tax on the money)
Inventory tax IRS interest charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor tax
Local income tax
Luxury taxes
Marriage license tax
Medicare tax
Property tax



Real estate tax
Recreational vehicle tax
Road usage taxes (Truckers)
Sales tax and equivalent use tax
School tax
Septic permit tax
Service charge taxes
Social Security tax
State income tax
State unemployment tax (SUTA)
Telephone federal excise tax
Telephone federal, state and local surcharge taxes
Telephone federal universal service fee tax
Telephone minimum usage surcharge tax
Telephone recurring and non-recurring charges tax



Telephone state and local tax
Telephone usage charge tax
Toll taxes
Tourist development tax
Traffic fines (indirect taxation)
Trailer registration tax
Transfer tax and Generation-skipping transfer tax
Utility taxes
Vehicle license registration tax
Vehicle sales tax
Watercraft registration tax
Well permit tax
Wheel tax
Workers compensation tax

YEP SLOW NEWS DAY FILE CLERK

[Willie Bee]

You forgot the thumb tacks...get it? Thumb tax!? Oh, sometimes I slay myself.

So what is your point here, G.K.? I mean other than you are apparently against all forms of taxation? How would you propose financing the interstate highway system or local roads? What is your plan for building public schools, or will you just leave education to the free market, private school system? How will you fund and maintain the military? Just what are your ideas on these subjects and many more?

[The Prick]

easiest way to avoid taxes in the U.S. is to not make any money. they ain't taxed all the free dough i got from being a Katrina victim, and i bought some great fun with my debit cards. i am gettin' kinda tired of livin' in this trailer though

[G. K. TEMUJIN]

Originally Posted by Willie Bee

Entertaining and even somewhat educational post, G.K. But it is a bit silly to compare much of what's going on today to what was happening 100 years ago. True, we citizens didn't have a tax debt to the feds, states and local municipalities. But then, indoor plumbing was still considered an enormous luxury, you could pay off your medical bill with eggs and produce and there was hardly any regulation of commerce and industry. We had roughly 210 million fewer people crowding this land as well, and the idea that just about every American above age 18 would own their own mechanized transportation was a laughable concept.

No sir, it's not the taxes that are the problem, it's how the revenue earned from taxes is spent (i.e., wasted). I'd be willing to pay even a bit more each year if I knew it was going to be put to good use.

Wrong Sir Taxes , taxes , taxes are the problem and will always be the problem.

You are one of the few who would be willing to pay more taxes.

Do you work for the bloated government bureaucracy or corporate welfare ???

Taxes very rarely go to any good use.

We are discussing taxes, not the Technological advances in US over the past hundred years.

I do not get your point ???

These are irrelevant Indoor plumbing has nothing to do with taxes. How you pay your physician has nothing to do with taxes. Every American owning their own automobile has nothing to do with taxes. Of course a hundred years ago commerce & industry were correctly regulated in many areas.

Over 70 years ago a chap flew solo over the Atlantic , that had nothing to do with taxes


About 55 years Penicillin & the polio vaccine new treatments what do they have to do with taxes ????

50 years ago there was no DVD , Cd or even video tape and Bonanza was just about to explode the color television market. But those toys have not a thing to do about taxes. Also 50 years ago there was still a few places across the US that still did not have indoor plumbing or even electricity , but that has nothing to with taxes.

Around 45 years ago many American households had one wage earner. The wife stayed at home to raise the children . On one income they could afford a nice home , car and food on the table.

TAXES , TAXES , TAXES HAVE DESTROYED THAT AMERICA !!!!

[Willie Bee]

Originally Posted by G. K. TEMUJIN

Do you work for the bloated government bureaucracy or corporate welfare ???

You're kidding, right?

Taxes very rarely go to any good use.

Aha! Now we're getting somewhere. The fact the money is misused after taxes are paid aren't the fault of the taxes. But we do agree on the fact tax revenues are being stolen and misused.

Now, let's assume for a minute that I say, "G.K., you brilliant son of a gun, I'm with you. Let's do away with all taxes tonight at midnight."

How do you propose funding basic municipal services to start with?

[G. K. TEMUJIN]

Originally Posted by Willie Bee

You forgot the thumb tacks...get it? Thumb tax!? Oh, sometimes I slay myself.

So what is your point here, G.K.? I mean other than you are apparently against all forms of taxation? How would you propose financing the interstate highway system or local roads? What is your plan for building public schools, or will you just leave education to the free market, private school system? How will you fund and maintain the military? Just what are your ideas on these subjects and many more?

Well Willie ,

Correct I do not believe in to many taxes.

Cut spending , fire many of your useless Federal , State , County , City , Town & Village bureaucratic hacks.

Stop funding those needless & stupid government programs .

The interstate that was paid for by time Carter left office at the worst. Interstate toll roads I have no problem with that. You use it , you pay the charge. To bad America destroyed the railroad system now there was system that could move freight & product fast & efficiently.

The American public education system is overall in many states & localities a complete farce. Let the private sector have a crack at it.

The military close up all of those bases overseas . Leave Iraq & Afghanistan . Real simple save lots of money.

Just a start.

So much for my exercise in rhetoric .

[G. K. TEMUJIN]

Originally Posted by Willie Bee

You're kidding, right?

Aha! Now we're getting somewhere. The fact the money is misused after taxes are paid aren't the fault of the taxes. But we do agree on the fact tax revenues are being stolen and misused.

Now, let's assume for a minute that I say, "G.K., you brilliant son of a gun, I'm with you. Let's do away with all taxes tonight at midnight."

How do you propose funding basic municipal services to start with?

It is the fault of taxes.

Taxes , in many forms still the earnings out of people pockets. Money they could use to purchase what the individual wants and needs.

Which basic services ???

Many are make work programs for the connected few.

Let's do away with most taxes.

[Willie Bee]

Ok, tough to argue with your plan there.

[icemantbi]

I agree with G.K here in alot of ways. The enormous tax burden nowadays has destroyed alot of what America is about. Rugged individualism. The income tax was supposed to only last long enough to support World War 1, but after the powers that be realized the cash cow that it was and kept it in place. It has only gotten worse, much worse.

There needs to be some basic forms of taxation, for municipal services, police, military, even basic schools perhaps, but the amount of taxation that exists today is completely rediculous. So many useless gov't programs exist that should be done away with. Welfare is the worst. I can't stand the thought of part of my paycheck going to someone who does nothing all day and simply collect a check every month. Why should they get this when they don't do anything to earn it? I see alot of people on welfare, and trust me, they do jack shit and just sit around all day boozing it up and watching TV. Not to mention the social damage it does because now Suzy or Tommy can get a welfare check and leave home if they want to. Or the best excuse when some whore gets pregnant to some deadbeat and has a kid and now wants to stay home all day to raise the kid, she gets free money. If that check wasn't there, maybe she would have acted differently. And now you see the democrats wanting even more costly social programs, like Health Care that will put even more strain on the average joe blow.

[Willie Bee]

Originally Posted by icemantbi

I agree with G.K here in alot of ways.

No, if you agree that some form of taxes are ok -- For those basic services you described and G.K. doesn't seem to know about -- then you apparently don't agree with G.K. at all. At least that's what I got from him.

[capitalist pig]

I watched an interview on Tuesday with Warren Buffet on taxes. He had 17 employees in his office working for him in Omaha, and everyone of them paid a higher % in taxes than he did.All of them were amazed at this when he told them.The man is very modest, and is probably one of the only folks in the world that could tell his employees this without resentment.

Its just not in the interest of the USA govt to lower taxes.

later

[milwaukee mike]

when over 1/2 of federal tax $ is spent on war and interest we have a major problem.
those are 2 of the dumbest things to spend money on.

roads are paid by the gas taxes.
schools are paid by property taxes.

so when people want to continue federal income taxes they always bring up "don't we need schools and roads??". but of course federal taxes go to a lot of useless b.s. like federalizing more and more land.

[Willie Bee]

G.K.'s original post said to do away with ALL taxes, including (and I assume not limited to) the list below.

The inheritance tax.

Accounts Receivable Tax Building Permit Tax CDL license Tax Cigarette Tax Corporate Income Tax Dog License Tax Federal Income Tax Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) Fishing License Tax Food License Tax Fuel Permit Tax Gasoline Tax (42 cents per gallon) Gross Receipts Tax Hunting License Tax Inheritance Tax Inventory Tax IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax) Liquor Tax Luxury Taxes Marriage License Tax Medicare Tax Property Tax Real Estate Tax Service Charge Tax Social Security Tax Road UsageTax Sales Tax Recreational Vehicle Tax School Tax State Income Tax State Unemployment Tax (SUTA) Telephone Federal Excise Tax Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax Telephone State and Local Tax Telephone Usage Charge Tax Utility Taxes Vehicle License Registration Tax Vehicle Sales Tax Watercraft Registration Tax Well Permit Tax Workers Compensation Tax Hotel/Motel Tax ON AND ON............

FEDERAL TAXES
STATE TAXES
COUNTY TAXES
CITY , TOWN , VILLAGE TAXES

[G. K. TEMUJIN]

Originally Posted by Willie Bee

No, if you agree that some form of taxes are ok -- For those basic services you described and G.K. doesn't seem to know about -- then you apparently don't agree with G.K. at all. At least that's what I got from him.

For the most part he does agree with G.K. !!!

Get rid of most of those needless taxes & most of those useless governmental programs whether at the federal , state , county or local level !!!

Waste , waste , waste is what G.K. says... clear Willie ???

Willie are you reading my original post correctly or are you seeing words that are not printed on the page ???

Please show me where I state get rid of ALL taxes in the first thread ???

Or even my subsequent follow up posts ???

According to my dictionary MOST is not synonymous with ALL .

[G. K. TEMUJIN]

Originally Posted by milwaukee mike

when over 1/2 of federal tax $ is spent on war and interest we have a major problem.
those are 2 of the dumbest things to spend money on.

roads are paid by the gas taxes.
schools are paid by property taxes.

so when people want to continue federal income taxes they always bring up "don't we need schools and roads??". but of course federal taxes go to a lot of useless b.s. like federalizing more and more land.

Once again great truthful insight from MM.

Do away with most taxes . Do away with most stupid useless governmental programs.

[G. K. TEMUJIN]

Originally Posted by Willie Bee

G.K.'s original post said to do away with ALL taxes, including (and I assume not limited to) the list below.

Willie I am scratching my head worrying about your reading comprehension skills.

Where in that original thread Do I state do away with one of those taxes ???

That post is just a statement of Taxational fact.

You assume & infer that I want taxes done away with .

Which for many taxes I do I just never stated that idea in the original post.

[Willie Bee]

Originally Posted by G. K. TEMUJIN

Willie I am scratching my head worrying about your reading comprehension skills.

Where in that original thread Do I state do away with one of those taxes ???

My apologies, G.K. You listed a bunch of different types of taxes in a couple of posts and then commented:

Wrong Sir Taxes , taxes , taxes are the problem and will always be the problem.

Since you didn't specify which taxes you were really targeting, and had included a laundry list of taxes, I felt it safer to initally assume you meant them all than to try and pick and choose which ones among the hundred or so you were discussing.

You did eventually come back with:

Let's do away with most taxes.

But here again, you did not specify which taxes were among the "most" you wanted done away with. Don't believe there's much wrong with my reading comprehension. In my first post in this thread, I even stated that it's the wasteful spending of the taxes collected that is the real problem, yet you never seemed to pick up on that and then went blank when I inquired about the revenue needed to finance some of our basic services.

I'm all for a simplification of our tax codes and for the dollars collected to be spent more efficiently.

[G. K. TEMUJIN]

Hidden taxes you pay every day

When you're making a PBJ sandwich or an airline reservation, you're coming into close contact with invisible charges that make goods and services more expensive.

By Judi Hasson
Published Nov. 9, 2007

Everyone knows there are federal taxes on tobacco and alcohol, but did you know the feds take a bite out of your afternoon candy bar?

There are plenty of unexpected taxes that raise the price of goods and services -- sin taxes, import duties, user fees and excise taxes on everything from gas guzzlers and firearms to communications services and air travel.

"The less visible a tax is, the less likely taxpayers will be aware of it, unsettled by it and advocate against it," says economist Jared Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.

You may feel lucky in Las Vegas, hit the lottery or have a good day at the racetrack, but all winnings are taxable as regular income.

There's a tax on the life insurance policy that your employer so generously gives you as a benefit if it is over $50,000.

"Most of the hidden taxes pertain to products we buy rather than wages we earn," adds Pete Sepp, a spokesman for the National Taxpayers Union, a watchdog group in Washington, D.C.


America first

Everything from brooms to bicycles may carry an excise tax to make it more expensive. It's one way the government keeps the price of imported products artificially high and makes it easier for domestic ones to compete for business.

"You are paying more than you would otherwise pay," says Patrick Fleenor, an economist for the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C., group.

Here are some items whose prices are jacked up with import taxes:

Taxes on imported goods

Bicycles 11%
Cotton hammocks 15%
Certain infant formulas 18%
Table linens 12%
Flashlights 18%
Peanut butter 143%
Girdles and panty girdles 24%
Telephones 8%
Brooms 32%
Plastic school supplies 5%

Source: Institute for Policy Innovation, Washington, D.C.

Your candy bar offers a good example of how import taxes, or duties, can inflate the price of sweets. Congress has used tariffs and subsidies to manipulate the market price of goods and produce to benefit American producers.

These costs are sprinkled over many different products, such as candy, breakfast cereal and other packaged food on the grocery shelf.

"Who pays for these subsidies? All of us do -- when we pay our taxes that are used to pay the subsidies to domestic producers and when we purchase a Milky Way as a midafternoon pick-me-up," says Andy Pike, a tax professor at American University's law school.

A recent government report estimates that consumers pay between $400 million and $1.9 billion a year to fatten the sugar industry with federal subsidies and artificially inflated prices.


Hidden taxes are everywhere

You don't even know it when you pay many federal taxes. Often, the tax does not appear on the sales slip and is simply lumped into the price of goods.

a. If you want to take a romantic cruise down the Potomac River @-- or any other U.S. waterway -- there's a $3 tax on anyone transported by boat.

b. Here's what you pay for a flight: a 7.5% tax on a domestic ticket, a $3 tax for each segment of a flight and, since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a $2.50 security charge on every segment.

c. Fishing isn't free, either. A fisherman pays 10% of the sales price on sport-fishing equipment. Nor is archery. The federal tax on arrows is 40 cents per shaft. Quivers and broadheads are taxed at 11%.

d. Buyers of handguns pay 10% of the sales price to the feds; other firearms, along with ammunition, are taxed at 11%.

e. Federal tax on a pack of cigarettes is 39 cents, but there are plenty of other state and local taxes that increase the price. Tobacco taxes contribute $7.7 billion to the Treasury every year.

f. A childhood DPT vaccine (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus) has a 75-cent charge per shot for a trust fund for those injured by the shot.

g. Here is one the federal government will rarely collect -- a 2% tax on unauthorized wagering. Yes, it's on the books, and it is directed at criminal cartels. When you bet legally, there's a 25-cent tax on every bet you place.


It's not room and board, it's 'income'

Some things aren't taxed specifically but are lumped in by the IRS as income -- meaning you'll pay in April:

a. Thrilled that your son or daughter got a college scholarship? There are federal taxes on some parts of the award. Room, board and pocket money are taxable, but tuition is not.

b. The next time you find buried treasure, remember to report it as regular income.

c. Even if you're so broke that creditors have forgiven part of your debt, you're not off the hook. The forgiven portion of your debt is "income" and taxable as such.

d. If you take a bribe or steal property, it's income unless you give it back before the tax year is over. Just a tip.


Isn't there a better way?

Every tax has a purpose, political, practical or puritanical. Some are designed to cover the cost of services, like the 18.4-cent gas tax that pays for highway construction. The airline-ticket tax helps build runways.

Others are meant to discourage certain types of behavior as well as raise revenue, like the $13.50-a-gallon tax on hard liquor and the 33-cent tax on a six-pack.

If you buy a gas guzzler, a tax of up to $7,700 is paid by the manufacturer (but passed along -- right on the sticker -- to you, the buyer). The federal cigarette tax of 39 cents represents less than 10% of the retail cost of a pack most places, but there's pressure to raise it to as much as $1.

Pike, the law professor, says the United States is the only industrialized country that does not have a value-added tax, which taxes all consumer goods and services at each step of the manufacturing process.

"A value-added tax could replace all these nickel-and-dime annoyance taxes," he says. But it also would level the playing field so everyone would be taxed for buying products and not just specialty items.

Under a system of value-added taxes (VAT), each time a company handles a product on its way from raw material to finished good, it pays a tax on the increased value. Ultimately, all those taxes are reflected in the retail price of a good or service.

Of course, that makes a VAT the ultimate hidden tax.

http://tinyurl. com/2lcmez

[Willie Bee]

Originally Posted by G. K. TEMUJIN

"The less visible a tax is, the less likely taxpayers will be aware of it, unsettled by it and advocate against it," says economist Jared Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.

I'd say this was true for just about everything in life...the less visible anything is, the harder it is to see.

You may feel lucky in Las Vegas, hit the lottery or have a good day at the racetrack, but all winnings are taxable as regular income.

Except for the state-controlled lotteries, I'd venture to guess that very few taxes are paid on winnings in Las Vegas or at the track.

Taxes on imported goods

Bicycles 11%
Cotton hammocks 15%
Certain infant formulas 18%
Table linens 12%
Flashlights 18%
Peanut butter 143%
Girdles and panty girdles 24%
Telephones 8%
Brooms 32%
Plastic school supplies 5%

Damn, I was just getting ready to run out and buy some baby formula and a new girdle.

Congress has used tariffs and subsidies to manipulate the market price of goods and produce to benefit American producers.

When we're the only ones doing this, I'll be a bit more concerned.

"Who pays for these subsidies? All of us do -- when we pay our taxes that are used to pay the subsidies to domestic producers and when we purchase a Milky Way as a midafternoon pick-me-up," says Andy Pike, a tax professor at American University's law school.

Judging by most reports I've seen, most Americans could do without those afternoon Milky Way's.

c. Fishing isn't free, either. A fisherman pays 10% of the sales price on sport-fishing equipment.

Fishing isn't supposed to be free, fishing is supposed to be fun. Never have read that bit in the Constitution that all things fun are supposed to be free.

e. Federal tax on a pack of cigarettes is 39 cents, but there are plenty of other state and local taxes that increase the price. Tobacco taxes contribute $7.7 billion to the Treasury every year.

Then quit smoking.

f. A childhood DPT vaccine (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus) has a 75-cent charge per shot for a trust fund for those injured by the shot.

Seventy-five cents seems to be a small price to pay compared to the alternative of contracting diphtheria.

b. The next time you find buried treasure, remember to report it as regular income.

Yes, I'll do that.

c. Even if you're so broke that creditors have forgiven part of your debt, you're not off the hook. The forgiven portion of your debt is "income" and taxable as such.

Sounds fair to me.

d. If you take a bribe or steal property, it's income unless you give it back before the tax year is over. Just a tip.

There is a very honorable way around paying this tax.

Others are meant to discourage certain types of behavior as well as raise revenue, like the $13.50-a-gallon tax on hard liquor and the 33-cent tax on a six-pack.

Again, this seems like a small price to pay when compared to the alternative of not enjoying that fine beverage.

[tacomax]

This is a classic thread. And Willie Bee, you are a comedy genius.

Now, carry on.

[thezbar]

I except the fact that I have to pay taxes.O.K I deal with it. What burns me is the amount of money wasted on a failed foriegn policy Plus the fact as an individual I have little say in it. I wish there was a better way.

[G. K. TEMUJIN]

YOUR TAXES HARD AT WORK

Farm Subsidies Going To The Wealthy?
$20B In Tax Dollars Is Allocated To Keep Farms Afloat - And Some Lawmakers Are Benefiting
Comment On This Post
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2007

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

VideosPhotos

(AP / file)





Farm Subsidies For The Rich ???

Farm subsidies are designed to help American farmers in years when crops don't grow or prices are weak. But some wealthy beneficiaries are cashing in, too. Sharyl Attkisson follows the money. | Share


Farm Subsidies For The Rich ???

(CBS) Each year, taxpayers fork over about $20 billion in farm subsidies to help keep America's farms up and running. But over the years, more and more of the payments have gone to Fortune 500 companies, the wealthy - and even members of Congress, CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports.

Ken Cook, who researches the issue, says it makes about as much sense as putting a milk bucket under a bull.

“The big farms get most of the money. Ten percent of the beneficiaries get over 70 percent of the payments, because the bigger your farm, the more money you get,” said Cook, who is president of the Environmental Working Group.

At their best, farm subsidies help American farmers who do well some years, but would go out of business other years when crops don't grow or prices are weak.

But just look at the number of beneficiaries who live - of all places - in New York City. They’re often people who've bought or inherited land that qualifies for subsidies, though they live in high-rent city homes.

Even New York billionaire Edgar Bronfman Sr. receives farm subsidies. Even the members of Congress who vote on farm subsidies and earn $165,200 government salaries can get payments. A dozen of them or their close family have gotten a total of $6.2 million dollars over 10 years.

One of them is Arkansas Rep. Marion Berry.

He's grown rice his whole life, and has collected subsidies from the start.

Today, he and his family members have interests in several farm corporations. Attkisson asked him: “You and your family’s interests received almost $2.4 million in federal payments from 1999 to 2005 according to records?"

Berry said: “I don’t have any idea. That sounds like an awful lot of money to me.”

Whatever the amount, most Americans would hardly envision Berry as the disadvantaged farmer.

“Can you tell me what your net worth is?” Attkisson asked.

“My net worth? I don’t have any idea,” Barry replied. “Well, it’s not very much I know.”

"This range says $1.7 million to $6.6 million,” Attkisson read to him.

“That’s probably pretty close,” Berry said.

The new farm bill working its way through Congress attempts to cut off some of the wealthy. Under one version, no one earning more than $1 million a year could get subsidies.

That wouldn't affect Berry. He's worth a lot, but says his yearly income falls below the million-dollar mark.

There's nothing illegal or improper about the wealthy receiving farm subsidies. Cook says it's just not fair to taxpayers.

“Shouldn’t we ask farmers when they come in the door, like we ask so many other people, for government food programs, ‘do you need the money? How are you doing financially?’” Cook said.

For some well-to-do farmers, the harvest is especially bountiful: They're sowing the land and reaping your tax dollars !!!!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/...e=search_story

[Willie Bee]

We can agree on this one, G.K. The whole farm subsidy program needs to be 86'ed and a new plan implemented, one that requires farmers in need to apply annualy for the subsidy and for a farm bureau agent to inspect and verify the need for some help instead of checks just automatically doled out. They should also only go to individuals/family farms and not corporations that own farms.

[louisvillekid]

Originally Posted by Willie Bee

They should also only go to individuals/family farms and not corporations that own farms.

exactly. do they still do those Farm-Aid concerts. i haven't heard about them in years.
on another note: i guess if they don't find out whats killing the bees we won't have to worry about farm subsidies.

[ironmike67]

Taxes are out of hand across this here land!

Enough is enough I agree with GK all the way!

[G. K. TEMUJIN]

What prosperity are you talking about ???

And do not forget the SALES TAX !!!

This one: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=14210771

or...

This one: http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/articl...ate-51005.aspx

US Consumers: Negative Savings, Trillions In Debt, Negative Equity, Disaster Ahead

Negative Savings
In the early years of the Great Depression, the United States recorded one of its lowest personal savings figures up to that time. The 1932 figure was a dismal negative 3.1 billion dollars. That remained the worst year on record for the next 73 years.
At the start of the 21st century, that same personal savings figure dropped from a positive 174.3 billion dollars in 2004, down to a negative 34.8 billion dollars in 2005. The following year in 2006, that figure went down even further when it reached negative 102.8 billion dollars.
General economic principles state that consumers will save some of their disposable income and spend the rest. A negative savings rate means that U.S. consumers are spending more than 100% of their monthly after-tax disposable income . Other variables aside, the overall decline of personal savings (as has been consistently calculated over the past 80 years) indicates that the percentage of household savings has gone down to zero and is now in negative territory.

Ongoing Trends
In a recent Federal Reserve report, top economists state that the recent negative savings rate was partially caused by consumer extraction and spending of home equity during the past few years . A negative savings level is somewhat unusual and is generally not expected to continue for long, however, even adjusting for the equity extractions, that same report states that the actual saving rate trended down nonetheless.
Along with a decrease in savings, there has also been an increase in consumption. Known as personal consumption expenditures, this is a measure of the goods and services purchased by consumers . The ratio of nominal U.S. personal consumption expenditures to nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been trending up since the early 1980s and is now hovering near an all-time high of 70% . That is the highest percentage of spending as compared to GDP in the entire world .
These factors in combination with low interest rates and easy credit have caused an overall increase in household debt .
When consumers spend more than they earn, they are counting on future income not yet earned to pay off their current debt. If, and when, that unearned income does not materialize, consumers are no longer able to continue purchasing on credit. When the majority of consumers begin experiencing problems paying their debts, a serious economic collapse can be precipitated.

Debt & Debtors
A debt is a financial obligation to repay an amount owed . Three general categories of those who have debt in an economy can be classified as follows: consumers, businesses, and governments.
Consumers have a broad range of debts that come in all shapes and sizes. Some are in the form of credit cards, store cards, home loans, school loans, car loans, personal loans, back taxes, utility bills, rental payments, medical bills, and many other forms too numerous to list. Suffice it to say that there are myriad ways consumers can get themselves into serious and sizeable debt. At last check, U.S. Consumer debt was at an all time high of 2.4 trillion dollars (yes, that’s trillion with a T).
Businesses also have their share of repayment obligations. Small businesses often finance day-to-day business activities on credit cards and generally repay them when the bills come in. Businesses also owe money in the form credit from their suppliers, both foreign and domestic, and also have many of the same types of debt as consumers.
Governments have a slightly different set of debts, but they’re debts nonetheless. Governments fund social projects, wars, purchase goods and services, and finance a lot of it by issuing bonds, notes, and treasury bills that all need to be repaid with interest at a future date.
Corporate, government and consumer debt all have an effect on a nation’s economy, however consumer debt can be considered the one factor that can most adversely and subversively impact the underpinnings of what fuels a nation’s growth.

Consumer Debt
While corporate and government debt does not necessarily affect all consumers, consumer debt can affect all corporate and government institutions. This is because consumer spending directly contributes to corporate profits and government revenue. If spending were to stop all of a sudden, as a result of excessive debt, so too would our economy.
In essence, the foundation of a market economy can be summed up in one word: consumption. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) is what fuels the engine of growth in a market economy and constitutes over 70% of GDP in the United States. PCE can be defined as the amount of disposable income that is not saved. As noted earlier, we currently have a negative savings rate in the U.S. This means all disposable income plus additional borrowed money is being consumed. This is where debt comes in.







Excessive Consumption
Excessive consumption ends up going on credit, either via credit cards, home equity loans, or other types of loans. Home equity loans theoretically are based on built up equity in a home, however, over the past few years, home prices rose at an extremely fast pace which ranged from 7.4 percent in 2002 to 13.2 percent in 2005 (about 3 to 4 times the rate of inflation). This gave the feeling of increased wealth and prompted many consumers to borrow on this equity. As home prices began to fall in 2006 and 2007 , this perceived equity has disappeared and consumers are left with large equity loans they still have to repay and no easy way to sell their home without going deeper in debt.
Another factor that is believed to have contributed to an increase in personal debt is that many Americans have felt wealthier, and therefore have spent more, due to the mostly uninterrupted rise in the stock market throughout the 90s and the last few years .
Within the past five years, a series of interest rate cuts as well as federal tax cuts may have also played a role in stimulating American consumers to spend beyond their means.

Credit
Via our nation’s system of credit, consumers are rated by three private nation-wide credit monitoring agencies who produce credit histories as reported to them by lenders. If there is excessive debt on a consumer’s credit report, then lenders will no longer extend credit to those consumers. When consumption can no longer continue, there is an inevitable slow-down in the overall growth of an economy. If the reduction in consumption is significant the results can be far reaching.


Suppose an average consumer has gone into substantial debt via credit cards, loans, medical bills, etc. All his credit cards are maxed out and his salary is barely enough to buy some food and pay the mortgage. Once his credit limit is reached, he can no longer consume. He will no longer be able to pay his bills and can subsequently lose his home and be forced to sell things off to repay some of his debts.
His non-spending on consumer goods and services in turn affects those businesses he would otherwise be supporting. As a result those businesses see a decrease in sales and are forced to lay-off some employees. Those employees in turn are then faced with insurmountable debts that they themselves have and were counting on their future income to pay back. Those people will now be facing a similar situation as our initial consumer.

Down Cycle
These conditions can prompt a down-cycle in the overall economy and can be devastating for not just a few, but the nation as a whole. When added to an already slowing economy, the effects can be multiplied and magnified. As more and more jobs are lost, more and more consumers cease to consume. Each incident of another consumer who can no longer pay his debts and can no longer continue his consumption affects not just him and his family, but his community and his state, and eventually the nation as a whole.
Through the understanding of the multiplier effect on an economy, we know that for every amount spent there is an equal amount of saving or investment that takes place elsewhere. For instance, a purchase of a home will earn the seller a profit, the listing agent a percentage commission, the selling agent a percentage commission, and a long list of other service providers who will benefit simply from the transaction of the sale.
After the house has been purchased there will more than likely be repairs and/or renovations that will equally create a long list of contractors, landscapers, plumbers, etc. that will benefit a nation’s overall GDP by multiples of the original amount spent.
The same multiplier effect will work in reverse if other conditions in the economy provoke a recession-like cycle. This could conceivably cause a prolonged recession or potentially a depression state in the economy.

Avoiding Disaster
A manageable, controllable, non-excessive amount of debt is generally understood, expected, and good for an economy. Debt that remains within the bounds of disposable income is debt that is more than likely going to be paid back. This has a positive effect in raising overall GDP as it stimulates capital spending which lays the groundwork for future growth.
In order to avoid a negative debt impact on an economy, a nation should avoid excessive debt when inflation is high or when there are unsubstantiated bubbles in the economy (as in our recent housing bubble). Debt should not be used to finance the purchase of stocks in companies as it can drive up their prices, making consumers and corporations feel more wealthy and likely to spend more on non-capital goods and cause an inflationary state .

On a more individual level, consumers need to go back to the basic principles that were in place after the Great Depression and before easy credit. The ideas of living within your means, not buying what you can’t afford, and saving your money for a rainy day, are all necessary in a society to avoid a potentially dangerous financial situations in an economy.

[G. K. TEMUJIN]

http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul-arch.html

The True Cost of Taxing and Spending

by Ron Paul



DIGG THIS

Congressman Charlie Rangel recently unveiled a tax plan that Republicans estimate would raise taxes by $3.5 trillion over 10 years. Democrats questioned the math.

Now, the Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee have released a report on the total costs of the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, including "hidden costs" such as interest on the money we're borrowing, and long-term healthcare for vets. The bill comes to $3.5 trillion. Republicans are, of course, questioning the math on this item.

One thing taxpayers know is taxing and spending is expensive, and government cost estimates tend to be on the conservative side relative to the actual bills. However extracted and spent, $3.5 trillion is an unimaginable extra burden on our economy.

If $3.5 trillion is the true cost of these military adventures, $11,500 is the amount every man, woman and child in this country pays. So, a family of four would pay $46,000 just for this war. This is an especially painful number to me, as the median household income of my constituency in Texas is just $43,000 a year. In other words, war has cost more than an entire year’s worth of income from each middle class Texas family.

What about the impact of these costs on education, the very thing that so often helps to increase earnings? $46,000 would cover 90% of the tuition costs to attend a four-year public university in Texas for both children in that family of four. Obviously, it would far outpace the cost of a community college degree, so vital to so many in the workforce.

But, instead of sending kids to college, too often we’re sending them to Iraq, where the best news in a long time is they aren't killing our men and women as fast as they were last month.

The Heritage Foundation estimates a $3.5 trillion tax increase would be responsible for 2,200 lost jobs in my district alone, over 70,000 lost jobs across Texas. That's 70,000 Texans in unemployment lines, without health insurance for their families. Some Democrats may not want to spend $3.5 trillion on Iraq, but they do want to raise it in new taxes. And, by digging our economy into a deeper hole, they would create a lot more demand for the social programs they propose.

Tax-and-spend policies create needs they can never satisfy. A government check does not make up for a lost job. Americans do not want more of this. Americans believe in hard work and self-sufficiency, not standing in line for government hand-outs. We are supposed to be living in a land of opportunity, but opportunities fade fast if more tax-and-spend policies are enacted. The more Congress meddles in the economy, the bigger the problems get.

Congress should not increase taxes by $3.5 trillion and the administration needs to end the occupation of Iraq with its costs of $3.5 trillion to taxpayers. Let the hardworking American taxpayers keep their money. Families need that $46,000 far more than government does.

See the Ron Paul File



November 22, 2007


http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul425.html

[ChuteBoxe]

Boo to Uncle Sam! Why do I make $2400 a week busting my ass, and he gets to keep $900 of it for sitting on his fat lazy ass. And people wonder why you need a secondary income to survive. In the 50's just the husband needed to work, in the 80's both husband and wife needed to work, by the time 2010 rolls around, 3 incomes will be needed to survive. Lucky for me I already started that. I have my regular job (field supervisor in manhattan), my online company that I own (ticket brokering), my gambling income (been +$25,000 for 4 years in a row now), and the wife's salary as a kindergarten teacher (she makes nothing, probably about what I make gambling, lol.) Anyways, that's ****ing crazy that the govt takes so much money from us, that families now need 3-4 incomes.

[Willie Bee]

Originally Posted by ironmike67

Taxes are out of hand across this here land!

Enough is enough I agree with GK all the way!

Exactly what is it you are agreeing with and exactly how would you propose fixing it?

[Cheryl]

And Bill Clinton was complaining about getting 5 tax breaks?
Poor Baby!