Taxes, Taxes, And More Taxes!

[Pachipro]

I received this in my e-mail from another member of this board, and a good friend of mine and I really think it should be posted.

Someone once said the only sure things in life are death and taxes. How right they are!

I don't know how bad it is for you in other countries, but I would surmise that it is about the same if not worse. The average person on the street would not believe you if you told them that probably about 70% or more of their income is going to taxes.


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 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 ***

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 in 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

Cable TV Tax (Federal and Local!)

Capital gains Tax

Car Tax

CDL license Tax

Cell Phone Tax

Cigarette Tax

City Income Tax

Corporate Income Tax

Dog License Tax

Excise Taxes

Federal Excise Tax on Tires

Federal Income Tax (15 - more than 30%)

Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)

Fishing License Tax

Food License Tax

Fuel permit tax

Gasoline Tax

Gross Receipts Tax

Hunting License Tax

Inheritance Tax

Interest expense Tax

Interest Tax on interest earned

Internet usage Tax

Inventory tax

IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)

Liquor Tax

Local Income Tax

Luxury Taxes

Marriage License Tax

Medicare Tax

Personal Property Tax

Property Tax (County and City!)

Real Estate Tax

Road Usage Tax (including tolls!)

Service charge taxes

Social Security Tax (FICA)

Sales Tax (4 - 10% depending on state and city)

State Income Tax

Recreational Vehicle Tax

School Tax

Sewer 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 non-recurring charges tax

Telephone state and local tax

Telephone usage charge tax

Tire Disposal Tax

Utility Taxes

Vehicle License Registration Tax

Vehicle Sales Tax

Water Tax

Watercraft registration Tax

Well Permit Tax

Workers Compensation Tax

And many other taxes too numerous too mention, but often go unnoticed.


COMMENTS: Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation, the USA, was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

Today, China and Japan own trillions of our debt including almost all mortgages, the US is one of the least prosperous countries in the world, our national debt will probably never be repayed, the middle calss is shrinking, and if Mom doesn't work they'll probably lose the house and just who the hell is raising our kids today as it sure isn't the parents.


What the hell happened? Can you spell "politicians!"

And I still have to "press 1" for English!!

 

[Mike Cash]

And I still have to "press 1" for English!!

I had to call Pentax Customer Service at the headquarters in Kawasaki a few days ago. I was taken completely unprepared to speak when a real live human being answered the phone on the first ring. I expected a busy signal, or at best a computerized answering system that would make me run a gauntlet of menu options before being placed on hold forever.

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

I know I'm stepping into a minefield here, but I actually don't mind paying taxes, at least not here in Japan. If we expect a well-functioning government, we must pay for it, after all.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

I always wished we could.......

direct our taxes to where they could be used or not used. Maybe break it down into about 10 areas to check off. Like NO for war and YES for helping children and elderly, etc. .

Uncle Frank

 

[Elizabeth]

COMMENTS: Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation, the USA, was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

Mom stayed home most likely tied down working on a farm without electricity or running water living every day in mortal dread of accidents, disease or crop failure that could instantaneously wipe out their lives, not to mention savings. If she were a minority of course there would have been the debasement of civil rights abuses beyond gender bias which went largely unpunished or even encouraged by government policies. There will be waste and inefficiency in any bureaucratic system but at least be grateful we're not living in an age of unimaginable poverty and enforced discrimination.

the US is one of the least prosperous countries in the world

Like along with Africa, South America and most Asian countries ?

 

[leonmarino]

Mom stayed home most likely tied down working on a farm without electricity or running water living every day in mortal dread of accidents, disease or crop failure that could instantaneously wipe out their lives, not to mention savings. If she were a minority of course there would have been the debasement of civil rights abuses beyond gender bias which went largely unpunished or even encouraged by government policies. There will be waste and inefficiency in any bureaucratic system but at least be grateful we're not living in an age of unimaginable poverty and enforced discrimination.

Cheers! Although I am not a fan of taxes, and I sometimes think that the involvement of the state and the financing thereof has caused some considerable limitations here and there, I also believe there has to be a balance in some way or another, and a state being able to provide utilities and protection of human rights are pretty much good things universally.

the US is one of the least prosperous countries in the world

Um.. Well.. No. The Gross Domestic Product of the US per capita, corrected for Purchasing Power Parity of the US is the third in the world.
It is just matter of how you look at it. It is true that US is a debtor nation, partly because they import "too much". However, because these debts have to be repayed one day, this somehow can increase one's bargaing power. No nation dares destory the US economically because there are so many nations that are stakeholders in the US's economic health.

But going back to the original topic: taxes, I have to say that what a US citizen pays in taxes is very mild compared to what we Europeans have to pay!! Our VAT is 19% for example. You wouldn't believe how much tax consumers pay. Apparantly corporate taxes in Holland are low to attract multinationals, but John Doe working his *** off often sees his hard-earned money go up in a over-developed welfare state.

But still, a little amount of taxes is needed, of that I am sure.. On the other hand I have to agree with many of the sane, tax-averse friends that it is such a bloody shame to see it wasted as a means to financing a new municipal buildings, paying politicians and heads of state, or as a fuel of wars instead of education and energy, which I believe are the two main ingredients of economic growth and overall welfare.

 

[Ewok85]

I know I'm stepping into a minefield here, but I actually don't mind paying taxes, at least not here in Japan. If we expect a well-functioning government, we must pay for it, after all.

Welcome to my minefield

I don't mind paying taxes, its how life works, but I do object to how they are used, especially my pension and health premiums which are going into a system that has been so thorougly abused that it is collapsing as we speak, with petty stop gaps being applied that do not deal with the issue.

In Japan the country is in debt to the sum of over 150% of the GDP. All of the prefectures are heavily in debt and survive on handouts from the federal government.

Japan is a creditor nation, its people save vast amounts of their money. America is a debitor nation, its people save little and take out loans. The interest rate in Japan is laughable, profiting the industry and government. Americans who on average save less than a third than the Japanese make it all up, and more, over time thanks to the interest rates in America, while they also live in better homes thanks to not being restricted by the un-questionably ridiculous conditions like "sunshine law", inheritance tax, bans against building of basements for residential homes, etc.

I walk around Japan and think what an ugly, low-tech country this really is. It feels like a developing country that has far too much money, with constant construction of ugly buildings, wires and cables strung any where and everywhere, large in-your-face signs and billboards everywhere, and the pure amount of irritating noise pollution at all hours of the day.

Say what you want, but compare Tokyo to Singapore, which has in an incredibly short times done amazing things, and you see a huge difference. Singapore is not in huge amounts of debt, it has a comparable population density, it has lovely parks, roads with large shade-giving trees. If I had to put words to it, "clean", "wide", "natural" come to mind.

I'm getting off track now

 

[Pachipro]

Sure we need taxes, and I don't mind paying them either. We need them for basic survival and services.

Mom stayed home most likely tied down working on a farm without electricity or running water living every day in mortal dread of accidents, disease or crop failure that could instantaneously wipe out their lives, not to mention savings. If she were a minority of course there would have been the debasement of civil rights abuses beyond gender bias which went largely unpunished or even encouraged by government policies. There will be waste and inefficiency in any bureaucratic system but at least be grateful we're not living in an age of unimaginable poverty and enforced discrimination.

100 years ago yes and so did dad, worring about the same things. I don't know about you or some of the others, but when I was growing up in a working class neighborhood in New York in the 60's moms never worked. They stayed home to take care of the kids while dad worked one job. With that one job, whether it be a policeman, a garbageman, a deliveryman, a factory worker, etc., his income was enough to afford a house and a car and be able to take a family vacation here and there. Today none of that is possible without both parents working.

Enjoying one of the lowest Income Tax rates in the world and with all the taxes paid, and yes they are needed, the average American's lifestyle should be rising not declining and they should be getting more for their taxes, but instead we have one of the worst public educational systems in the world, half the people have no medical insurance, and we have an infrastructure that is about to crumble and is in such disrepair which is why they are selling off major interstates in the US to foreign countries. The government says they can't afford it anymore. What? The last time I looked this was the US with the third highest per capita in the world. Why can't we afford to repair our own roads and keep our factories?

The US may have the third highest purchasing power based on GDP, but what I'd like to know is what is that income and purchasing power after taxes? ALL TAXES. Not just federal and state.

Prosperous nation? Yes corporations are prospering by moving all factories overseas, but the average American is not prospering. Average incomes have been on a steady decline for 25 years, Chrysler is closing three or more factories and firing 15,000 employees, Ford may go bankrupt, Freightliner, one of the largest manufacturers of big trucks is closing most of their factories and moving to Mexico, and the US has only 16% of it's manufacturing base left. It is estiomated that in a few short years it will be less than 10%.

So, where is the prosperity? On paper only? And where are these people going to work? In factories? We don't have that many anymore. They'd have to move to China for that. In computers? They'd have to move to India for that. In McDonalds or Wal-Mart? Probably so.

The link leonmarino provided about the US being a debtor nation shows where that prosperity has gone. In just 15 years the US has gone from almost a zero trade deficit to almost 800 million.

With the taxes paid here and the trillion or so already spent on the war in Iraq, if that money were put into our schools and infrastructure, we would have a prosperous nation and one of the most beautiful and modern in the world. But we don't and we can't even supply our own troops with the armor and bullit-proof vests they need to survive. They must depend on the charity of their family and organizations.

It really is a shame that, not only in the US, but in all major nations around the world, the people should be getting more for the taxes they are paying besides the basics, but it doesn't seem to be the case. Maybe we need more taxes? I don't know the answer.

 

[ArmandV]

Sure we need taxes, and I don't mind paying them either. We need them for basic survival and services.


Prosperous nation? Yes corporations are prospering by moving all factories overseas, but the average American is not prospering. Average incomes have been on a steady decline for 25 years, Chrysler is closing three or more factories and firing 15,000 employees, Ford may go bankrupt, Freightliner, one of the largest manufacturers of big trucks is closing most of their factories and moving to Mexico, and the US has only 16% of it's manufacturing base left. It is estiomated that in a few short years it will be less than 10%.

Yes, we're prosperous. We are still manufacturing, only different things. Instead of steel, it's microchips, etc. As for Ford and Chrysler (and GM), their problem is that their overhead ate away their profits. That's why you are seeing a lot of buy-outs and lay-offs. They can't afford the extravagant benefits packages the unions shoved down their throats.

American cars are on a par with Japanese cars in terms of quality right now.