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My question is a simple one, but I'm afraid the answer is bound to be complex. What percentage of my salary winds up in government coffers whether it be federal state or local?
Of course I can look at my pay stub and see federal and state income tax, FICA, Medicaid etc. I can look at my property tax bill. I have no sales tax here in Oregon, but I can roughly guess at gasoline taxes. I can see the taxes on my cell phone bill, utility bills and so forth.
But what about all the indirect taxes we pay? I bought a new car last year, a Toyota. What percentage of that 17,000 went to tariffs and the like? I bought a house a few years ago. What percentage went to inspection fees, system development fees, fee this and fee that. When I buy a box of cereal, everything from the grain that makes it, the box it comes to and the transportation network to get it to the store are all taxed.
I know that many of these taxes I pay are added on to the price of goods, but are actually physically paid to the government by the corporations that make the goods. But though corporations are legal entities, much like people, they are not really people. They aren't saving for retirement or trying to put kids through school. So even though they are paying them, I am really paying them.
So how much am I really paying. What would a loaf of bread cost if there were no taxes at any stage of its production or distribution? I can't wrap my head around it. Do you just divide the total cost of all government in the US and divide it by the number of people? That seems sloppy though, too many people in that equation who are children for example, or are on the government dole already in some form or another.
I would love for someone to point me in the direction of where to get facts and figures so the next time one of my uber liberal friends starts talking about how we don't pay enough taxes (they only seem to look at income taxes), I could counter with what we actually pay.
Thank you in advance.
Of course I can look at my pay stub and see federal and state income tax, FICA, Medicaid etc. I can look at my property tax bill. I have no sales tax here in Oregon, but I can roughly guess at gasoline taxes. I can see the taxes on my cell phone bill, utility bills and so forth.
But what about all the indirect taxes we pay? I bought a new car last year, a Toyota. What percentage of that 17,000 went to tariffs and the like? I bought a house a few years ago. What percentage went to inspection fees, system development fees, fee this and fee that. When I buy a box of cereal, everything from the grain that makes it, the box it comes to and the transportation network to get it to the store are all taxed.
I know that many of these taxes I pay are added on to the price of goods, but are actually physically paid to the government by the corporations that make the goods. But though corporations are legal entities, much like people, they are not really people. They aren't saving for retirement or trying to put kids through school. So even though they are paying them, I am really paying them.
So how much am I really paying. What would a loaf of bread cost if there were no taxes at any stage of its production or distribution? I can't wrap my head around it. Do you just divide the total cost of all government in the US and divide it by the number of people? That seems sloppy though, too many people in that equation who are children for example, or are on the government dole already in some form or another.
I would love for someone to point me in the direction of where to get facts and figures so the next time one of my uber liberal friends starts talking about how we don't pay enough taxes (they only seem to look at income taxes), I could counter with what we actually pay.
Thank you in advance.
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