Most of the talk we hear about taxes is usually about income taxes. Yet, we all pay a lot of other types of taxes. A significant one for workers and for many, greater than their income tax is the 15.3% payroll taxes paid by the employee and employer (but typically viewed as borne by the worker). If you look closely at your household bills, you'll see a lot of other taxes - utility use taxes, sales tax, property taxes, excise taxes and hotel taxes.
To help people gain a better appreciation for all of the federal, state and local taxes they pay, the AICPA has released "Total Tax Insights." It is a one-page input sheet asking for your income, utility bills, and other information to let you know roughly how much you paid of various taxes. It also includes a pie graph at the end showing how your total tax pie breaks down to pieces of the various taxes you owe.
While not completely accurate, it is still a good tool given its ease of use, accessibility and breadth as to types of taxes paid.
This can be a good tool for helping people better understand taxes so they can better understand and contribute to tax reform discussions.
You can find more information about state taxes in an April 2012 report from the US Census Bureau - here. It includes the pie graph included at the end of this post. I encourage you to check out that report.
Try it.
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| http://www.totaltaxinsights.org/ |
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| U.S. Census Bureau, April 2012 report |
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