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If you add up the spending for Federal, State and local governments (including transfers) it will total $6.163 trillion this year. That is now 40% of our GDP.
Our total Federal, State and Local debts total $18 Trillion with current interest payments of $300 billion annually (not counting the conversion of Trust fund debt to on budget debt). This does not include unfunded liabilities either.
The total amount of all gross income earned by individuals is $8.2 Trillion, of which $2.4 trillion was earned by those making over $200,000 gross income a year. (Not taxable income which our brackets are all based on)
hilgi, would you please provide the source for your numbers?
One thing that raises a flag for me is the phrase 'including transfers'. If you include monetary transfers from the federal level to the state level, wouldn't that be counting the same dollars twice?
The other thing that pops up is that monetary payments in the form of social security checks and unemployment checks are also counted as income. Might this also be a double-count?
A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup.
To tax (from the Latin taxo; "I estimate") is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law.
A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup.
To tax (from the Latin taxo; "I estimate") is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law.
[Both definitions are from Wikipedia.org]
Your welcome.
I'm sorry, but I wasn't looking for google knowledge...
I was hoping that you would be able to provide an actual example using the "Hunting Fee Tax" that you already listed.
I'm sorry, but I wasn't looking for google knowledge...
I was hoping that you would be able to provide an actual example using the "Hunting Fee Tax" that you already listed.
You can explain your example, can't you?
Why would you ask a non-liberal, non-bureaucrat, low-tax loving American to explain some bullsh*t tax that was dreamed up by some government accountant so that the government should take even more of my money?
You should ask one of your own what these stupid-a$$ taxes are for.
hilgi, would you please provide the source for your numbers?
One thing that raises a flag for me is the phrase 'including transfers'. If you include monetary transfers from the federal level to the state level, wouldn't that be counting the same dollars twice?
The other thing that pops up is that monetary payments in the form of social security checks and unemployment checks are also counted as income. Might this also be a double-count?
It looks like I should have just ignored transfers, they do subtract them out to net $6.1 T.
Perhaps you could enlighten us then about the difference between a fee and a tax?
Maybe start with a small example...
Please explain the 'hunting tax fee' from your list.
A user fee is designed to recoupe the cost of a service and the funds are strictly used to support that service. For a hunting or fishing license fee the fee cost goes to things like stocking fish or game, paying the wardens to make sure laws are being followed, to conduct population studies to assess fish or game population size and health, and to purchase or maintain areas where the activity can be done by the general public.
It's really not that complicated. Another example from that horrible cut & paste list was the tolls for a toll bridge or tunnel (most of which are actually privately owned but some toll roads are government owned) where the toll is used to help pay the construction cost and maintenance of the bridge or tunnel as well as to pay profits to investors (in the form of interest on the construction bonds). Since the person paying the toll is using the bridge or tunnel it is EXTREMELY reasonable for them to pay for that service but it isn't compulsory as usually there is another route which could be taken (even if it takes longer) which would not involve paying a toll.
CB10 seems to believe that paying his water bill is a tax when in fact it is a fee charge for the service of having water delivered to his home so it comes out of his tap. He has also nonsensically claimed that court fines are "indirect taxes" when in fact they are punishments for breaking the law. Around half of his list of taxes aren't even taxes which is why normal people are laughing at the list he cut & pasted.
Could that would be because private enterprise was flourishing and contributing a greater part to the GDP, and it didn't necessitate government spending?
Yes.
And that's what we need to go back to. Get government out of the way and our economy will flourish.
And that's what we need to go back to. Get government out of the way and our economy will flourish.
Government should reduce its "effect" after private enterprise goes about doing what it should. Just like it did following WWII, when massive government investment preceded private businesses flourishing. No?
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