Sunday, February 20, 2011

HIDDEN TAXES YOU PAY EVERY DAY

Whether 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. 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 things as varied as gas guzzlers, firearms, 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.
Think going “American First” is better, well look closer and find the Government tax policy is part of the problem of destroying “America First.” Goods from brooms to bicycles may carry excise taxes to make them 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: Bicycles at 11%, School supplies 5%, Hammock 15%, Infant formula 18%, Linens 12%, Flashlights 18%, Brooms 32%, Girdles 24% and Peanut Butter 143%.
Our own Federal Government is manipulating our economy so much till there is almost no such thing as a “Free Market.” If you were forced to pay the Taxes on everything you buy separate from the “hide the tax in the total price” you would be calling and writing your representatives. If you were forced to pay your income taxes separate from the “hide the tax by withholdings, you would absolutely pitch a fit till the Government corruption would be seriously hindered. Here is one site to get information to make a difference: http://www.ntu.org/

Dr Tim McClure