Lets look at the main reason why the American revolution happened.... TAXES. We wanted a free land where the government wasnt taxing us so much that we could barely live. I mean back then anything and everything you did got taxed!

Ummmm wait a second, over 200 years late nothing changed! I mean look at all the things we get taxed for. It is rediculious how much we pay in taxes. I dont think our four-fathers really wanted a situation where 1/8 of our paycheck when to taxes. We get taxed for living, traveling, clothing(in some states) and anything that could be remotely enjoyable. WTF is going on!?!!?

I mean seriously is this what the plan was? I can understand the need for money maintain government but if you look at what and how much we are getting taxed, its an f'ing joke. There is what 300 million people in the US, with the amounts we get taxed a year (from working, homes, etc..) I really cant see how we have a 477 billion dollar deficit (and growing).

Dont get me wrong, I can understand the need for advancement, better technology, etc... but I cant get the 6 figure + salaries, the wars that costs millions, then the rebuilding of the country we went to war with. I mean seriously, this was one of the main reasons the American Revolution happened. People were getting taxed so much that the cost of living was unbearable. Looks like we are in the situation again!

The revolution was about a lot of things, but it wasn't about tax overload. It was about being taxed without representation.

Now, do a calculation. Take your total taxes paid for 2004 and divide into your salary to get your real tax rate. It's nothing to whine about, and it's probably one of the lowest in the world.

How stupid do you have to be to complain about a 12.5% (1/8, as you say) tax rate? Does the shit pile up in your bathroom? Are you missing out on the whole running water thing? Did you mom home school you and tell you public schools didn't exist?

IIRC, English citizens in the Revolutionary Era had a larger taxload than American colonists. Like stated above, one of the many main issues was taxation without representation.

How stupid do you have to be to complain about a 12.5% (1/8, as you say) tax rate?

I dont think you get my point, its not just about employment tax, but EVERYTHING we do gets taxed, and the funds are , in my eyes, being missed used. High salaries, wars and rebuilding other countries is not the best way to spend all that money. Thats the point I was making!

The revolution was about a lot of things, but it wasn't about tax overload. It was about being taxed without representation.

Actually it was about an overload, out of the some of the main events that happened during the timeframe the stamp act was about an overload of taxation . It required all legal documents, licenses, commercial contracts, newspapers, pamphlets, and playing cards to carry a tax stamp. This is believed to be the "Straw that broke the camels back" in regards to the revolution. Hence an overload of taxation, but I do not disagree about taxation without representation.

Hmm, take a visit to the U.K. and THEN try to complain about U.S. taxation, lol, even though there are certain (albeit few to me) perks to it (U.K.'s system) despite impending problems.

The prices I've seen on my recent family visit here (to the U.K.; actually still am here) are terrible as well.

It was more about Representation/Money in general. There was a very real glass ceiling in place for the Colonists in the political structure at the time. Ever wonder why all of the founding fathers were (at the very least) people who were fairly well off?

I dont think you get my point, its not just about employment tax, but EVERYTHING

I do get the point: You don't know what you're talking about. You specifically pointed to your paycheck as an example.

If you're NOT talking about federal income taxes, then you're talking about local taxes, now aren't you? Go stage a revolt against you county. Make a sign, parade in front of your local county seat, and post pics here.

It's not the paycheck so much that bothers me . It's teh way we get taxed over and over again.
First they tax your pay. Then, say, you buy a house. They tax the purchase. Then they tax you for owning it. Then they tax you again if you sell it.
In some states it works the same way with a car.

How are you taxed when you purchase a house?

You are taxed on the profits when you sell a house. Not the total sale price.

I don't think you'd complain about your taxes after you take a look at how much we're taxed here in Canada.

Remember too that the colonists were paying money to a government on the other side of a very lengthy ocean trip. There was little relationship between their money and their government. Although in the end the colonists just needed verbal reasons to break off from England and start their own country.

Money goes to different places depending on the tax as well, you can't blanket state that it all ends up in the federal government, military, or oversees projects. You're paying for highways, city projects, education, various health benefits...although I'll agree a lot of that could probably be spent better. Hey, we should run for Congress!

If we're talking high tax rates, take a look at Sweden. High taxes FTW! :mad:

I went to Canada about fell out of my chair with my taxes I paid on dinner.
I will live in the USA and pay the taxes here anyday! :)

Honestly ... I agree.
My old roomate works in the Department of Defense. He makes $55,000/ year starting salary. My other old roomate works at the FBI. He makes $45,000/ year starting salary. The FBI isn't an agent, he's "tactical support" aka he files shit and does what the agents tell him to. Both of them can work about 4 days a week with the ammount of government holidays, days off, etc. They will, regardless of how well they do, will be making around $80,000 in about 5 years if they show up for their job 4 days a week. They will not be fired unless they stop showing up for work for about 3 weeks. It takes an act of congress to fire them.

They also work in DC, where its a bit more competitive. We have people working government jobs accross the country making ridiculous salaries and not having to really do any work. Wars and such aside, since these things happen and we should be able to maintain a military force, the government has serious budgetary issues. I work in the entertainment industry (freelance video work and so forth) and around September I will work non-stop. Different departments of the government are not allowed to have a budgetary surpluss at the end of the year because they won't get the same budget the next year, and thus they spend it all on useless training videos no one will ever watch. Last year alone I worked on 30 of these videos each costing the taxpayers around $50,000 each. And I am only one of thousands of freelancers in the DC area, let alone accross the country.

In Montgomery County here in Maryland, they finally did something right. They realized "shit, we're taxing our citizens more than we should be" and wrote everyone a refund check since they couldn't spend the money. Not only will this assure that Doug Duncan (county treasurer) will get the governor seat in 2006, its the right thing to do instead of spending the money on wasteful projects.

The problem is, the bulk of the government is lazy and don't want to change things. They like that their pay raise comes every 12 months regardless of if they work hard or not. They like how they won't be able to get fired. Why would you want to change that kind of working environment?

Lemme see, in my country average salary (750 USD / month!! before taxes) means about 21% income tax, between 12,5% and 14,5% social security and 1% employment fee.

Oh my 1/3 gone right off the bat.

If you consider good middle class (above average) income then it can go as high as 40-50% total.

And that's only half of the story.

+25% value added tax on almost everything you buy (15% on food).

If you happen to own a car then you will pay an extra 70% on fuel (current price on gas is like 1.33 USD per liter, about 5 USD per gallon)

Cry me a river.

Fairtax.org

Cut bait or swim...

Fandros

The Rebellion was about a lot of small things, taxes just being another thing, no more or less significant than the fact that American gentry would rather the taxes went in to their pockets, instead of the English gentry back home.

People often forget that the majority of rebels wanted an American society based on the aristocratic model of England, with Washington as their king.

Complain about taxes? Pfft, colonies were there to make money, otherwise whats the fookin' point of an Empire? You were all bloody catholics and criminals anyway, whiny buggers :P

Actually, England sent over mostly weird sects of protestants at first (puritans, methodists, etc.), not catholics. They came later, mostly after independence (especially when we started getting immigrants from Ireland and southern Europe). We did get a lot of criminals though.

The sad thing was, there was a bill in parliament to grant just that thing: representation of the colonies.

Everyone forgets the french and indian war, which had happened the decade before the revolution. The british were beginning to see the colonies as a drain on resources rather than the benefit it used to be (when they could defend themselves rather than having to pay for the british army to be shipped over and.....)

So basicly, they were looking at ways to make the colonies pay for their own defense. Actually seems rather a reasonable idea to me. We just had these new fangled ideas about how them starched shirts in england didn't have a clue about how commerce really aught to work (what, you mean the state SHOULDN'T grant a monopoly to companies? Or prevent ships from trading in ports of nations they were at war with?)

Heh, we didn't like their loot distribution system or their loot acquisition system, so we broke off and formed our own guild...oh wait....


I like the idea of the flat tax. 17% on all income. No deductions other than one big standard deduction. Post card sized tax forms are the win!

I dont think our four-fathers really wanted a situation where 1/8 of our paycheck when to taxes.

Try near 40% there Mr-uber-SK-train-in-SSRA-puller. My company recently gave us $100 bonusses. In order to actually get us $100 take home, they had to give me $169. Thats just sick.

Nice company though, if they took that into consideration!

Nice company though, if they took that into consideration!

Yes, they really did take that into consideration and it is a real nice company to work for.