The other day on Facebook, one of my contacts posted this (see below original post for my thoughts”…
“Original Post David Jones October 10, 2013
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 work,
Tax his pay,
He works for
peanuts anyway!
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
Tax his tears.
Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.
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
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Sales Tax
School 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 Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?
Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation 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.
What in the heck happened? Can you spell ‘politicians?’
I hope this goes around THE USA at least 545 times!!! YOU can help it get there!!!
GO AHEAD. . . BE AN AMERICAN!!!”
I would like to thank Mark for giving me a research project this morning, truly! I enjoy researching and often times the information on here [Facebook] is very easily debunked or shown true. But every once in a while there is something that makes you go “hmmm”. So while this poem was cute, the list of taxes seemed unbelievable so… to the Google for research I went.
Some of these taxes have been in place since the start of the country, Property Taxes (1786), Tariffs (1789), Federal Income Tax (1890), Inheritance Tax (1900) and others almost 80 years, Sales Taxes (1930).
The country started in debt with the American Revolutionary War (35% of GDP). In 1800s the Tariff Taxes were 95% of the federal revenue to pay for the war (Tariff Taxes are currently at 1.4% of revenue). That debt was paid off at before the onset of the Civil War (jumped to 33% GDP debt). As the Tariff Taxes went down the Federal Income Tax came into effect and climbed. 1900s saw the national debt under 20% of GDP. In 1890, the average worker could pay their annual federal taxes in 4 days (making 25 cents a day for a 10 hour shift= 40 hours of work). Today, that same minimum wage worker has to work 26 days (8 hour shift= 208 hours of work) to pay their annual federal tax.
Then came WWI and the debt grew to 32%. 1933s Great Depression saw it rise to 70%! By the 1940s it was down to 16.2% just in time for WWII…where it jumped to 119%. It steadily went down over the next 35 years as more taxes were put in place (while tariff taxes continued to fall). During the Cold War it rose again to 50%, Desert Storm to 65%, then a slight drop during Clinton to 55%, War on Terror increased it to 68%, Great Recession (2008) saw it again peak at 104% and it is currently (2018) at 107%.
I was really shocked to see how much in debt this country has been in its 242 years of existence. The number of taxes that have been or are still in effect and how the country’s shift to making the citizen pay taxes instead of the corporations that import to us. In 1890 the federal income tax was 1.4% and today its 10% for the minimum wage worker while pay has only instead by 29% in the same time frame, with more and more taxes in place at the federal, state and local levels.
Then there was that statement about how moms used to stay home and everyone was ok, so I ran the numbers….in the 1960s the price of a house was 8.5 times the annual salary, today it’s 21.2 times. The price of a new car in 1960 was 100% of the annual paycheck, now it’s 210%. The price of milk has gone down but the price of gas has almost doubled. And all the while tariff and corporate taxes have gone down and any tax corporations have to pay is passed to the consumer in price hikes instead of considered the price of doing business.
References:
Thepeoplehistory.com
Department of Labor
USgovernmentspending.com
investopedia.com
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