How pathetic is this? In the "land of the free", we pay taxes at rates similar to those of the countries in Europe we deride as socialist.
There's a good reason for that, our tax system has no significant differences from the European style VATs, except it tends to misrepresented as being something else. Instead of using tax credits to reconcile the payment of business taxes, we use allowed deductions from gross revenue to accomplish the same thing.
Definition [ http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/13330.html ]:
value-added tax
levy imposed on businesses at all levels of production of a good or service, and based on the increase in price, or value, added to the good or service by each level. Because all stages of a value-added tax are ultimately passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices, it has been described as a hidden sales tax. Originally introduced in France (1954), it is now used by most W European countries.
The current income/payroll tax structure now in place is a subtraction method VAT, in that it is a levy imposed on businesses at all levels of production, it is passed on to the consumer hidden in the price of goods and services, lower wages, lower returns on investment for investors, and higher loan interest rates
Issue: What Is the Best Way to Collect a Value Added Tax?
A value-added tax (VAT) generally is a tax imposed and collected on the value added at every stage in the production and distribution process of a good or service. Although a VAT may be computed in any of several ways, the amount of value added generally can be thought of as the difference between the value of sales and purchases of a business. (e.g. Revenues - Costs = Taxable Business Income)
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Subtraction-Method VAT. Under the subtraction method, value added is measured as the difference between a business's taxable sales and its purchases of taxable goods and services from other businesses. At the end of the reporting period, a rate of tax is applied to this difference in order to determine the tax liability. The subtraction method is similar to the credit-invoice method in that both methods measure value added by comparing sales to purchases that have borne the tax.
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The subtraction method differs from the credit-invoice method principally in that the tax rate is applied to a net amount of value added (sales less purchases) rather than to gross sales with credits for tax on gross purchases. A business's tax liability under the credit-invoice method relies on the business's sales records and purchase invoices, while the tax liability under the subtraction method may rely on records that the taxpayer maintains for income tax or financial accounting purposes.
As long as Congress Critters can hide or disguise taxes from the Voter, 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