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View Full Version : How many taxes are there in the US?



McCool
12-14-2013, 10:14 AM
I thought it would be interesting to see how well some of us knew our tax system.

iustitia
12-14-2013, 06:27 PM
That all depends on what the definition of 'tax' is. It makes a big difference if you count social programs that the state swears are not taxes but insurance.

KC
12-14-2013, 06:29 PM
That all depends on what the definition of 'tax' is. It makes a big difference if you count social programs that the state swears are not taxes but insurance.

It also depends on whether the OP means just the federal government, the states or both. I imagine there are more than the average person is aware of though.

ptif219
12-14-2013, 07:10 PM
There are federal State and local taxes. Even a toll road can be considered a tax

Chris
12-14-2013, 07:19 PM
The fed printing money inflates the money supply and deflates its purchasing power--another form of taxation.

iustitia
12-14-2013, 07:48 PM
Not to mention fines, penalties, surcharges and fees. Punitive taxes.

Captain Obvious
12-14-2013, 08:01 PM
Thousands

Chris
12-14-2013, 08:31 PM
http://i.snag.gy/cRlNC.jpg Mmm, this is a taxing question....

iustitia
12-14-2013, 08:33 PM
Also do we count subsidies and regulations?

Captain Obvious
12-14-2013, 08:37 PM
More taxes than tea in Bahston harbor.

ptif219
12-14-2013, 08:49 PM
Seems like the OP has created more questions than answers

Captain Obvious
12-14-2013, 09:16 PM
How many sperm cells are in Lisa Lampanelli's vag?

iustitia
12-14-2013, 10:35 PM
All of them. The black ones I mean.

McCool
12-14-2013, 11:25 PM
This list oughta get us started:

http://www.weatherimagery.com/blog/how-many-taxes-are-there/

patrickt
12-15-2013, 07:02 AM
Don't bother counting because they're adding them faster than you can count and you'll never finish. And, of course, we first have to have the debate about what's a tax and what's a fee and what's a surcharge and what's a voluntary donation and what's a mugging.

Polecat
12-15-2013, 07:15 AM
Tax is how our government has grown to the monster it is. And now that we can no longer feed it enough it is getting dangerous.

Max Rockatansky
12-15-2013, 07:35 AM
That all depends on what the definition of 'tax' is. It makes a big difference if you count social programs that the state swears are not taxes but insurance.

∞-1= ∞

Max Rockatansky
12-15-2013, 07:44 AM
Tax is how our government has grown to the monster it is. And now that we can no longer feed it enough it is getting dangerous.

Dangerous how?

Peter1469
12-15-2013, 09:39 AM
Dangerous how?

Deficit spending and uncontrolled debt are dangerous to the long term health of the economy and the USD.

Max Rockatansky
12-15-2013, 09:58 AM
Deficit spending and uncontrolled debt are dangerous to the long term health of the economy and the USD.

A bit of an exaggeration, but it's true that deficit spending and spiraling debt harms the long term health of the economy.

It always disturbs me to see warlike terms applied to simple civilian problems like a sagging economy or a Democrat in the White House. Real dangers like a possible war with China in the South China Sea or a terrorist WMD killing thousands, if not millions, of Americans make a sluggish economy pale in comparison.

Peter1469
12-15-2013, 10:26 AM
A bit of an exaggeration, but it's true that deficit spending and spiraling debt harms the long term health of the economy.

It always disturbs me to see warlike terms applied to simple civilian problems like a sagging economy or a Democrat in the White House. Real dangers like a possible war with China in the South China Sea or a terrorist WMD killing thousands, if not millions, of Americans make a sluggish economy pale in comparison.


I think that a sluggish economy is an understatement. Even the Joint Chiefs have said that our national debt is our greatest national security interest (http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/22/news/economy/national-security-debt/).

I don't see war with China. I agree about WMD, or worse an EMP attack.

Max Rockatansky
12-15-2013, 10:40 AM
I think that a sluggish economy is an understatement. Even the Joint Chiefs have said that our national debt is our greatest national security interest (http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/22/news/economy/national-security-debt/).

I don't see war with China. I agree about WMD, or worse an EMP attack.

I didn't see where the JCS said it was our "greatest" national security issue, but it is certainly a problem. Thanks for the link.


While national security spending is not the primary cause of the country's debt problem, it accounts for about a fifth of federal spending. And many defense and budget experts think the defense budget is filled with inefficiencies and waste that can be curbed without compromising national security if done smartly. (No one, for the record, thinks the $500 billion (http://money.cnn.com/2012/09/14/news/economy/white-house-spending-cuts/index.html?iid=EL) of across-the-board defense cuts scheduled to start next year are smart.)

What's more, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been run on borrowed money -- more than $1 trillion so far. And the decision to run up that tab was made before the country was hit by the 2008 financial crisis, which added considerably to federal deficits.

Chris
12-15-2013, 11:20 AM
While we wait for the answer... 24 Outrageous Facts About Taxes In The United States That Will Blow Your Mind (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/24-outrageous-facts-about-taxes-in-the-united-states-that-will-blow-your-mind):


The following are 24 outrageous facts about taxes in the United States that will blow your mind....

1 - The U.S. tax code is now 3.8 million words long. If you took all of William Shakespeare's works and collected them together, the entire collection would only be about 900,000 words long.

2 - According to the National Taxpayers Union, U.S. taxpayers spend more than 7.6 billion hours complying with federal tax requirements. Imagine what our society would look like if all that time was spent on more economically profitable activities.

3 - 75 years ago, the instructions for Form 1040 were two pages long. Today, they are 189 pages long.

4 - There have been 4,428 changes to the tax code over the last decade. It is incredibly costly to change tax software, tax manuals and tax instruction booklets for all of those changes.

5 - According to the National Taxpayers Union, the IRS currently has 1,999 different publications, forms, and instruction sheets that you can download from the IRS website.

6 - Our tax system has become so complicated that it is almost impossible to file your taxes correctly. For example, back in 1998 Money Magazine had 46 different tax professionals complete a tax return for a hypothetical household. All 46 of them came up with a different result.

7 - In 2009, PC World had five of the most popular tax preparation software websites prepare a tax return for a hypothetical household. All five of them came up with a different result.

8 - The IRS spends $2.45 for every $100 that it collects in taxes.

9 - According to The Tax Foundation, the average American has to work until April 17th just to pay federal, state, and local taxes. Back in 1900, "Tax Freedom Day" came on January 22nd.

10 - When the U.S. government first implemented a personal income tax back in 1913, the vast majority of the population paid a rate of just 1 percent, and the highest marginal tax rate was just 7 percent....

donttread
12-15-2013, 11:29 AM
The proper answer is TOO DAMN MANY



I thought it would be interesting to see how well some of us knew our tax system.

Max Rockatansky
12-15-2013, 12:31 PM
While we wait for the answer... 24 Outrageous Facts About Taxes In The United States That Will Blow Your Mind (http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/24-outrageous-facts-about-taxes-in-the-united-states-that-will-blow-your-mind):

I'm guessing most of those 3.8 million words are loopholes for people other than middle class working stiffs like myself.

Chris
12-15-2013, 12:55 PM
I'm guessing most of those 3.8 million words are loopholes for people other than middle class working stiffs like myself.

To support corporatism while we--middle or poor class--fund it.

Max Rockatansky
12-15-2013, 01:02 PM
To support corporatism while we--middle or poor class--fund it.

I think that's part of it. Not necessarily "corporatism" in the conspiracy theory sense, but certainly in the sense that the rich and powerful will do almost anything to remain the rich and powerful. History is clear on this both in the Old World and the New. The Robber Barons of the 19th and 18th Century America still exist albeit in a different form.

http://www.businessinsider.com/americas-robber-barons-2012-3

Chris
12-15-2013, 01:11 PM
I think that's part of it. Not necessarily "corporatism" in the conspiracy theory sense, but certainly in the sense that the rich and powerful will do almost anything to remain the rich and powerful. History is clear on this both in the Old World and the New. The Robber Barons of the 19th and 18th Century America still exist albeit in a different form.

http://www.businessinsider.com/americas-robber-barons-2012-3



Not a conspiracy theory at all but government and corporations working i collusion.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmzZ8lCLhlk

Mini Me
12-15-2013, 02:55 PM
How many sperm cells are in Lisa Lampanelli's vag?

Don't ask, don't tell!

You don't want to know!

Too much traffic in the ole love tunnel!