"Whip Me. Beat Me. Tax Me. Enslave Me: Shall We Pay Reparations to Taxpayers?"

That's exactly right. Most Americans, even savvy Americans, are oblivious to insidious value-added taxes. Intelligent people, including conservatives, even tend to look at me blankly or at least not seem to grasp the fact when I explain it to them that we pay a lot more indirectly in taxes than directly, and that ultimately the vast majority of every dollar we earn gets taxed away into government coffers.

That's exactly right. Most Americans, even savvy Americans, are oblivious to insidious value-added taxes.

The Individual Income Tax return(1040) that captures everyone's attention each April, is merely a partial VAT accounting sheet the government cons individuals, held at ransom, into filling out. Its misdirection puts blinders on the eyes of the voter, and totally distorts their perceptions as to the real impact of taxation in their lives.

Every man woman and child in the nation, pays federal taxes through that VAT.

DO YOU PAY YOUR INCOME TAX
AT THE SUPERMARKET?
by D. Sherman Cox J.D. L.L.M. Taxation

The full impact of the federal tax system(taxes in gross wage/salaries & other compensation + business income/payroll taxes) added onto the base price(without taxes) of retail consumption goods and services is 36% for federal taxes alone.

Why? Because all wages and the taxes on them are paid for out of sales receipts to business,(i.e. consumption expenditure).

Total fed taxes as reflected through gross family income is 23.5% (taxfoundation)
Total state taxes reflected through gross family income is about 10.2% (taxfoundation)
The current net personal savings/investment rate is about 1.2%.(BEA)

Federal tax revenues collected as % of current family expenditure = fed/(1-state-fed-savings) =

23.5/(1-.235-0.102-0.012) = 36.09%

If we add in the cost of federal tax compliance, planning, litigation & enforcement, the percentage that truely represents the burden on the family due to the Federal income/payroll tax system, product prices are increased by more than 55% over taxfree prices.

Where Have All the Dollars Gone?
How the government robs Peter to pay him back.
By economist James L. Payne, Reason Magazine February '94

When the overhead costs are added together, (24 percent compliance costs, 33 percent disincentive costs, and 8 percent other costs), they total 65 percent of tax revenue.

Current total Federal tax revenues are about $1900billion, more than $1,000 billion additional dollars are added on onto consumption prices due to the business costs of complying with the federal income/payroll tax laws.

The percent total current federal burden (taxes + compliance costs) of consumption dollars = 36*(1900+1000)/1900 = 54.95% economic burden added on to base retail(i.e. taxfree) prices.

Too bad that citizens don't get a receipt detailing those "hidden sales taxes" buried in their consumption purchases. If they ever did, some of those 70% of the public clamoring for more from government, thinking someone else foots the bill, might be tempted to change their mind.

Thanks for the resources! Never had real numbers, just gave out top-o'-my-head estimates. It's always nice to be in possession of precise information when attempting to make an unpopular point.

You're welcome.

"....we will continue to see 70% of the public clamoring for more from government believing someone else foots the bill.<"

I think Heinlein said it best.....

"There ain't no such thing as a Free lunch."

Also..most conservatives (or at least those who continue to be Republican)...don't want to see the facts about taxation...because it would show just how easily they are being fooled.

...and that's difficult to accept.

redrock