Quote from Scataphagos:
Certainly.
140 years ago in the US, the idea of an "income tax" was initiated... I believe it was related to our Civil War costs.. and it started at 3%.
How bad is it today? With Peolsi's proposed top Federal income tax rate of 45% + the proposed 5% vat....
If I started a little personal service business today which produced $100,000 in after tax profits, here's what my tax situation might look like....
1. Federal Income tax................. 45%
2. Social Security and Medicare.... 15.3%
3. State Income tax.................... 4.65%
4. Property tax............................ 6.6%
5. Sales Tax if all spent on taxable. 8.2%
6. Pelosi's VAT............................. 5%
While it's not as simple as adding up those taxes (Federal tax is deductible against State taxable income, State income tax is deductible against Federal... but then there's the AMT, which recovers part/all deductions as income increases)... a decent rough estimate of "Total Taxes" from my $100K = ~ $76,000.
And out of my $24,000 left over, I could soon have a MANDATORY payment into a health care plan ($800-$1,000/mo?) or PERHAPS FACE PRISION of up to 5 years!
So, what incentive to I have to start such a business??
When we get annoyed at politicos or other [supposed] public servants, we often like to say, "I pay your salary. You work for me".
Wel, the first part of that is true... the second part is wrong... we ALL in the private sector work for the government these days...
You forgot the hidden taxes that you pay. Gasoline tax which varys by state, but nonetheless, you are paying 15% more for gas with that tax at todays prices. (average tax for fed/state together is 45 cents per gallon) Dont forget the inflation tax. On average you are losing 3-4% of the value of your money every year and its about to get worse. If you drink or smoke, there some more hidden tax. You got tarriffs on goods that are imported. And if you look at your utility bills you will see some hidden taxes in there that you pay.