The Truth About Taxes

LETTER TO THE EDITOR


We all hate taxes paying taxes. Before there were taxes in America, we had tariffs that paid for government expenses, tariffs keep imports more expensive which makes it cheaper to produce a product in America (tariffs actually create jobs in America), we can't do that anymore because we love free trade and master china would get upset.

State taxes are a different animal all together, a tax war between states would be like one hand stabbing the other, the united states of America is great because the states work together as one in the best interest of all the states, (atleast that's the idea). States have expences from school, roads, clean water, teachers, police, fire fighters and equipment, the list goes on and on. The big question is how to collect taxes and who should or would pay pay the most taxes with any specific tax system. We all want to pay less taxes, even the wealthy polititions, the problem is that they make the tax laws and they are in large part controlled by the large industries and special interests groups.

In Tennessee we don't pay state tax which sounds great and the bigger paychecks look good and make us feel good. The problem with this system is that we have higher sales tax, so we only get taxed on what we spend. This sounds fair, why should big government get to dip into our checks before we see it. The problem is that the poor and lower middle class spend all of their income every year and so obviously get taxed on all of their income. The wealthiest of us (the politicians and their big industry, and special intrest groups) on the other hand only spend a small portion of their income and therefor only get taxed on the income they spend.

Stock market investments are taxed at a small 15 percent, this helps create jobs by encouraging investments is what our brave polititions tell us, but how does this actually work when business hires employees when they have work to be done and expands the business when demand is higher than supply.

Has anyone ever heard of an employer adding employees because they had more money? One thing we learned during the recession is that the stock price goes up when a company lays off workers. This is just one more way the polititions have twisted facts to help themselves and their friends avoid taxes at the expence of the working class.

What can be done to stop this corruption. In my opinion we have to stop donations to polititions by big business and special intrest groups, then we the people would be the only people they would have to keep happy, and isn't that what the founders had intended. Obviously it is, if it wasn't they wouldn't have started the constitution with ( of by and for the people ).

Patricia George
Woodbury, TN