What level would you rather pay taxes?

[MadMan1978]

For sometime I have written/spoke and have discussed taxes. On all levels were taxes are levied. 99% of the time I hear more users complaining about taxes a the federal level.

I agree as some level we should discuss federal taxes but dont forget, State, City/local taxes.

I would like to hear about those other taxes in you region.

I will at some later point post my reasons for starting this thread.

[theonedru]

in states w/ no taxes thy should instill some form to produce revenue and here in Washinton state they need a flat state tax instead of various mixed local taxes which is just stupid and confusing.

[Yanksfan396]

Dru... I live in Northern Oregon, and we get a ton of people Washington coming down to avoid the taxes.

[duane1969]

Not sure how it is in other states but here in WV you pay sales tax when you buy a car and then pay property tax on it every year after that. I have always thought that it was something of a scam that they tax you for the value of the same car over and over year after year as long as you own it and all along it is depreciating in value. So in effect, your property is worth less and less yet you have to continue to pay for the right to own it.

Also if you add one of those aluminum external building to your property the property tax goes up. They consider it "improvement" and increase your taxes for it.

Another odd little tax that popped up here a year or two ago is a fast food tax. You pay regular sales tax of 5% and then there is another 4% added on to your bill for the fast food/restaurant tax. I have no idea what the money is used for...probably to keep Sen. Robert Byrd on life support.

Personally I would rather pay a flat Fed tax and let the funding be distributed to the states but I know that the reality of that happening is a pipe dream. Aside from the fact that states that produce less revenue would get an equal share of the pie, I also doubt that the Fed would distribute enough for states to properly run themselves. Politicians cannot help themselves when dealing with taxpayers money. I am sure that they would siphon more money into their special interest projects and less would go to the state coffers.

[JeRmZ]

I'd just rather not pay them at all ... simple as that. But since "they" say we have to, I'd rather cut out Uncle Sam in the grand scheme of things and keep my money local.

[MadMan1978]

I was hoping OPT and mike would reply to this

[jlzinck]

The bottom line is that we have to pay taxes to pay for services we need.

One side of the spectrum wants to spend money on the things important to them and the other side thisks that their programs should be more important.

Here is how much I receive here in Massahcusetts from every dollar I earn: 76.2 cents. Now I have my withholding set so it's pretty much a wash at the end of the year. I susally receive about $100 back in state taxes and $3-$400 in Federal Taxes.

So now I have my 76.2 cents. EVERY tangible item purchase, aside from food bought in a supermarket, is taxed at 6.25%. So my buying power is 71.4 cents.

My property taxes are $2300/yr.

Federal and state gas taxes are 39.4 cents a gallon here.

I would say as a conservative estimate on the dollar amount of taxes my wife and I pay every year on a combined $95,000 dual income is $33,000 of which.

Now you have people who would consider me and my wife "rich" so we SHOULD pay more of the burden. Why should a couple who make $50K a year pay the same rate as me? Obviously I can afford it right?

Then you loot at the 50K a year couple and you see the $1500 52 in flat screen TV and the iPhones they both have and you look at my 15 y/o Zenith TV and the 5 cell phones I pay for each month that cost less that $70 a month TOTAL and tell me why I can afford to pay more?

The bottom line is that 51-52% of all WORKING people in this country pay ZERO FEDERAL income taxes and the rest do. Please show me where that is fair.

If we went to a use tax the 50K/yr couple might pay MORE than me because they buya nd use more than I do. That seems fair!!

[madduxfan31]

We get taxed way too much. Taxed on the money you make, taxed on just about everything you purchase & pay special higher taxes on certain items (ie gas, tobacco...). We get taxed way to much for a government who cant balance a buget (national debt) & for the most part are officals who represent us are mostly corrupt. They should do away with most taxes altogether but then how would the government be funded? I would be happy to pay 10% tax on the total amount of money i make. The rich get richer & the poor getting poorer.

[tutall]

Here in indiana we pay a 7 percent sales tax (with some cities adding 0.5 percent on top of that) but do not pay taxes on food. We have some of the highest automobiles taxes in the nation though. We paid over 800 dollars this year for license plates and i drive an 06 my wife an 05. So far I have paid a total of 16K to federal taxes, with state taxes a little under half of that... Last year i ended up paying in about 130 bucks on top of what was withheld.

We also pay property taxes although in Indiana the tax is capped at 1% of the properties "value" Considering this is assessed value the assessor in the county basically has the power to deem your house worth whatever he needs it to be worth to get his tax revenue. For instance. I bought my house for 92K 3 years ago. Since then the housing market has tanked which we all know however somehow my house is now assessed at 147K. Someone wants to pay me that for it ill move out tomorrow.

In my opinion it doesnt matter where they hide the taxes government spending is out of control and has been for several years now but they will get their money.

[MadMan1978]

The bottom line is that we have to pay taxes to pay for services we need.

One side of the spectrum wants to spend money on the things important to them and the other side thisks that their programs should be more important.

Here is how much I receive here in Massahcusetts from every dollar I earn: 76.2 cents. Now I have my withholding set so it's pretty much a wash at the end of the year. I susally receive about $100 back in state taxes and $3-$400 in Federal Taxes.

So now I have my 76.2 cents. EVERY tangible item purchase, aside from food bought in a supermarket, is taxed at 6.25%. So my buying power is 71.4 cents.

My property taxes are $2300/yr.

Federal and state gas taxes are 39.4 cents a gallon here.

I would say as a conservative estimate on the dollar amount of taxes my wife and I pay every year on a combined $95,000 dual income is $33,000 of which.

Now you have people who would consider me and my wife "rich" so we SHOULD pay more of the burden. Why should a couple who make $50K a year pay the same rate as me? Obviously I can afford it right?

Then you loot at the 50K a year couple and you see the $1500 52 in flat screen TV and the iPhones they both have and you look at my 15 y/o Zenith TV and the 5 cell phones I pay for each month that cost less that $70 a month TOTAL and tell me why I can afford to pay more?

The bottom line is that 51-52% of all WORKING people in this country pay ZERO FEDERAL income taxes and the rest do. Please show me where that is fair.

If we went to a use tax the 50K/yr couple might pay MORE than me because they buya nd use more than I do. That seems fair!!

Questions first
How did you come about the 76.2 cents on the dollar figure?