Taxes

How would you like to purchase a new $23,000 Ford Taurus for only $12,650?

That's the price you would pay if the government didn't tax every product you buy at every stage of its production, reports Americans for Tax Reform (ATR).

According to an ATR study, hidden taxes significantly boost--by as much as 26% to 75%--the price of every consumer product you buy.

That's because the federal, state, county, and local governments don't just slap a sales tax on a product when you buy it. They also tax that product during every step of its production and distribution.

The accumulated tax burden is staggering. For example, the government hits Ford with at least 20 different taxes when it builds a Taurus. That includes federal, state, and local income taxes for employees, workmen's compensation and unemployment taxes, state and local property taxes, energy taxes, and gas, tire, truck, and highway taxes to get the car to the dealer's showroom.

The bottom line: It costs only $12,650 to manufacture a car, including the dealer's profit. But you pay $23,000. The difference--a whopping $10,350--is pocketed by governments.

It doesn't stop with cars. Taxes account for 28% of the price for a restaurant meal; 75% of the cost of a pack of cigarettes (even more in some localities); 43% of the cost of beer; 40% of the cost of an airline ticket; 31% of the cost of a loaf of bread; and 54% of the cost of gasoline.

These "hidden" taxes--along with state and federal income taxes--are the reason why the average American family pays 42% of their income in taxes. That's more than they pay for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation--combined. Today, the average American wage-earner works 117 days a year just to pay his or her taxes.

Libertarians have a specific plan to slash your taxes. Our plan includes the return of the federal government to its Constitutional functions. We also seek to repeal the income tax and abolish the IRS. The savings from the elimination of the income tax could be put toward improving your childrens' education, starting new businesses, saving for your own retirement, and obtaining quality health care.

So, what would you do with that extra 43% of your income?