Monday, March 31, 2025
ARTICLE - PAYING TAXES
BY DONOVAN BALDWIN
Rich or poor, we all pay taxes just about every day.
Think income taxes (federal, state, and local) are the only tax you have to worry about? Have you thought about:
Payroll taxes - employees AND EMPLOYERS pay Social Security tax and Medicare tax on employee earnings.
Sales taxes - we pay sales taxes on goods and services for everyday items like groceries, dry cleaning, office supplies, and car maintenance.
Excise taxes - we pay excise taxes if we buy specific goods, like beer and gasoline. Your gasoline, by the way, includes state AND federal tax in its purchase price. A Pennsylvania resident pays over 50 cents per gallon in taxes, while an Oklahome resident pays about 17 cents per gallon.There are even taxes on your CELLPHONE BILL.
Property taxes - we pay taxes on our homes, vehicles, or other real estate.
Estate taxes - Americans (who have paid taxes on what they've earned their entire lives) pay taxes again on what they leave behind to their children.
Gift taxes - we pay taxes when we receive a cash gift from a loved one.
Travel taxes - There isn't really a travel tax, but, hotels and motels have extra taxes that they must add on to your bill. And, we won't repeat the part about taxes on the gasoline, or, the fact that companies who provide boat, train and plane services include some of the taxes that THEY have to pay in the price of your ticket.
BOTTOM LINE: Although it varies by income level and commercial activity, of course, the average American spends ABOUT 28% of what each American earns goes to taxes of one form or another, and, like the travel example above, most businesses, when pricing their goods and services, have to take into consideration the taxes that THEY will have to pay before they will see a profit.
In other words, if I want to make $100 off of some service or good I provide you, I have to charge you $128. Of course, other factors go into pricing of goods and services, but, rest assured that when you pay for goods and services, you are paying for some ot THEIR taxes.
And, it's not just big business. Daniel, who cut my lawn for several years at $35 a pop, had to figure taxes into what he charged me, even if I paid him cash, which I did, and he didn't report it, which I don't know.
He had to pay taxes when he bought his equipment and gasoline to run it and, he had to pay taxes on the gas in his truck that he used to get to his job. If he had not had to pay taxes, I might have got my lawn cut for only $30, and Daniel would have made the same profit.
Think income taxes (federal, state, and local) are the only tax you have to worry about? Have you thought about:
Payroll taxes - employees AND EMPLOYERS pay Social Security tax and Medicare tax on employee earnings.
Sales taxes - we pay sales taxes on goods and services for everyday items like groceries, dry cleaning, office supplies, and car maintenance.
Excise taxes - we pay excise taxes if we buy specific goods, like beer and gasoline. Your gasoline, by the way, includes state AND federal tax in its purchase price. A Pennsylvania resident pays over 50 cents per gallon in taxes, while an Oklahome resident pays about 17 cents per gallon.There are even taxes on your CELLPHONE BILL.
Property taxes - we pay taxes on our homes, vehicles, or other real estate.
Estate taxes - Americans (who have paid taxes on what they've earned their entire lives) pay taxes again on what they leave behind to their children.
Gift taxes - we pay taxes when we receive a cash gift from a loved one.
Travel taxes - There isn't really a travel tax, but, hotels and motels have extra taxes that they must add on to your bill. And, we won't repeat the part about taxes on the gasoline, or, the fact that companies who provide boat, train and plane services include some of the taxes that THEY have to pay in the price of your ticket.
BOTTOM LINE: Although it varies by income level and commercial activity, of course, the average American spends ABOUT 28% of what each American earns goes to taxes of one form or another, and, like the travel example above, most businesses, when pricing their goods and services, have to take into consideration the taxes that THEY will have to pay before they will see a profit.
In other words, if I want to make $100 off of some service or good I provide you, I have to charge you $128. Of course, other factors go into pricing of goods and services, but, rest assured that when you pay for goods and services, you are paying for some ot THEIR taxes.
And, it's not just big business. Daniel, who cut my lawn for several years at $35 a pop, had to figure taxes into what he charged me, even if I paid him cash, which I did, and he didn't report it, which I don't know.
He had to pay taxes when he bought his equipment and gasoline to run it and, he had to pay taxes on the gas in his truck that he used to get to his job. If he had not had to pay taxes, I might have got my lawn cut for only $30, and Daniel would have made the same profit.
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Labels: donovan baldwin, income tax, paying taxes, taxes
Wednesday, July 05, 2017
Death And Taxes
By Donovan Baldwin
Just to put the world in perspective. I graduated The University of West Florida (UWF), with a degree in accounting in 1973. I took many classes in humanities, math, English, accounting, finance, and economics. Of course, I took many accounting courses; beginning, intermediate, advanced. Accounting for managerial control. Cost accounting. Government accounting. All these courses, had one or two books. Economics tended to have big, heavy books. Finance tended to have small, reasonably sized text books. I carried a briefcase with all my books each quarter (we were on quarters, not semesters). Then came the quarter I had to take TAX ACCOUNTING! The texts for Tax Accounting filled my briefcase and I had to carry the books for other classes in my arms. That tells you something. Either taxes are the most important thing an accounting student has to learn...OR...wait for it...taxes are just too damn complicated. I think citizens should pay taxes to help the government do important stuff (another discussion), but, the citizen should be able to put his or her tax information on a tax return the size of a post card, and, it should take a citizen about one minute more than it takes them to gather their data, to fill in that tax return. Somebody is getting rich from complicated tax laws, and, it is not the citizen.
Just to put the world in perspective. I graduated The University of West Florida (UWF), with a degree in accounting in 1973. I took many classes in humanities, math, English, accounting, finance, and economics. Of course, I took many accounting courses; beginning, intermediate, advanced. Accounting for managerial control. Cost accounting. Government accounting. All these courses, had one or two books. Economics tended to have big, heavy books. Finance tended to have small, reasonably sized text books. I carried a briefcase with all my books each quarter (we were on quarters, not semesters). Then came the quarter I had to take TAX ACCOUNTING! The texts for Tax Accounting filled my briefcase and I had to carry the books for other classes in my arms. That tells you something. Either taxes are the most important thing an accounting student has to learn...OR...wait for it...taxes are just too damn complicated. I think citizens should pay taxes to help the government do important stuff (another discussion), but, the citizen should be able to put his or her tax information on a tax return the size of a post card, and, it should take a citizen about one minute more than it takes them to gather their data, to fill in that tax return. Somebody is getting rich from complicated tax laws, and, it is not the citizen.
Labels: accounting, article by Donovan Baldwin, donovan baldwin, tax accounting, taxes, University of West Florida, UWF
