The old joke says that nothing is certain in life but death and taxes, and medical science has done a lot to forestall the former. Although nobody enjoys paying taxes, most people probably do not realize how they permeate our daily lives. Simply put, one way or another, we pay taxes on almost anything and everything we do.
To illustrate how the tax burden can be spread around, consider the "tax trail" on a few common daily items (For help with filing your taxes, check out 6 Sources For Free Tax Help.)
Gasoline
The taxes on a gallon of gas start as soon as the oil comes out of the well. Although negotiated contracts, sweetheart deals, kickbacks and cross-cutting legislative actions can dramatically muddy the waters when it comes to assessing an "average" royalty in many countries, the fact is that companies like Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) and BP (NYSE:BP) owe the landowner and/or the state money whenever they remove oil and natural gas. In the United States for instance, companies pay a royalty of 12.5% on oil taken from onshore Federal lands, and that is an addition to so-called "bonus bids" that are paid upfront.
If that oil travels through a pipeline to reach a refinery (and much of it does), there's more taxation there - states and municipalities will charge property tax on the pipelines, and some also charge tax based on the volume of oil or gas sent through the pipeline. What's more, pipeline tariffs are often restricted by law, which is in effect a tax as well.
Once the oil gets to the refinery, there's still more taxation that figures into the final pump price. Although excise tax is collected at different times and at different levels, the federal tax on gasoline amounts to a little over $0.18 per gallon, with states tacking on more tax (ranging from $0.07 to $0.30 per gallon depending upon the state). Don't forget, too, that many states tack on their regular sales tax every time you buy gasoline.
Please follow this link for the full piece:
http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0111/The-Unseen-Taxes-That-You-Pay-Every-Day.aspx
2 comments:
Taxes everywhere you look - and STILL they are all drowning in debt. Government is worse than a chronically unemployed brother-in-law with gambling, drinking and drug problems.
Yep, but that's what happens when a large chunk of the population wants/expects the government to cater to their needs.
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