Tuesday, April 17th is
tax day this year.
There'll be publicity about income tax day but
it's misleading because income taxes
are just a fraction of what we pay.
And income taxes
are arguably way too high
but they actually make up less than
half of our personal tax burden.
Kristin Tate just wrote what she calls a
Field Guide to the American Tax Rip-off.
How Do I Tax Thee explores the many other taxes
we pay.
It's crazy.
California has a tax on fresh fruit
that comes from vending machines.
Car Registration
Entertainment Tax
Admissions Tax for Movies
Property Taxes
Garbage Taxes
This isn't an exaggeration.
Every time you do anything
you're really paying taxes.
Rifle Tax
Plane Ticket Tax
But these are tiny taxes.
Well some of them actually aren't tiny taxes.
The reason I wrote this book
is because I was getting charged about $200 a month
by Comcast for my cable bill.
Thirty-six dollars of it was tax.
These kinds of fees are inflating
every bill we pay.
Why should we believe you?
You're 12 years old.
I did the research.
All of this information is available online.
The results were shocking.
What do you think you pay in taxes?
Most people don't know what they pay.
I think it's 22%.
I'm probably paying closer to 20%.
Did you take a plane here?
I did.
Did you know you paid 20% in taxes on your ticket?
I did not realize it was that much, no.
How much are you paying for your hotel?
It's about $100 dollars a night.
So about $20 dollars of that
is going right to taxes.
Wow.
They get us everywhere.
I think I need to get a side job that pays cash.
We need taxes
to pay for government.
Of course we need taxes.
The problem
is that we're often being taxed
without even knowing it.
From going to a restaurant with our friends,
to buying a movie ticket,
to riding the subway,
we're getting taxed on those expenses.
In Colorado,
they tax
non- essential food items
like napkins, bibs, and straws.
In New York, they have a bagel cutting tax
which you get charged for whenever you
buy a pre-sliced bagel.
The whole bagel you don't pay the tax?
Yeah you don't pay the tax if you buy the whole bagel so
I always get my bagels non-sliced to avoid this tax.
This is a left-wing town.
They love high taxes.
It's part of the deal.
If New Yorkers want to pay high taxes,
they can vote for high taxes.
My problem
is the way
that these taxes are implemented.
Politicians are cowards.
Instead of creating a tax,
they magically create these little fees
and they don't have to tell their voters
they raised taxes.
So people don't know.
I have a list here of
100 different taxes that you pay.
Even they tax me on the beer that I drink.
Uncle Sam just kills me,
you know.
Can you think of anything you do in life
that is not taxed?
No, I can't.
When I sleep am I being taxed?
Everything's taxed,
even when I breathe.
$1.10 increase in the 911 phone tax.
911 fees
pay for important emergency services.
Actually no.
In most states and cities,
the 911 fees are just going to general funds.
Chicago for instance,
they hiked their 911 fee in 2008.
There was no Olympics in Chicago,
but they kept that fee in place,
and then in 2014 they raised it again.
Once they put them there,
they almost never go away.
Absolutely not.
Government only grows.
Finally, there's the pet licensing tax.
This is one tax
that Tate and her dog refuse to pay.
In most cities, it doesn't go to dogs,
it just goes to the general fund
like all of these other fees.
By saying I'm not paying this,
you're taking a risk.
Some vindictive bureaucrat.
I am taking a risk.
We pay so much of our money to these...
The dogs put you over the top?
It's the little things, John.
The little things add up.
What you pay in income tax
is probably less than half.
your total tax burden.