Re: Taxes Re: Politically Correct Description of the Third World

[Julia Thompson]

On Sun, 28 Jan 2001, Erik Reuter wrote:

> I think it is very unlikely that if every item were counted that they
> actually paid 46% of their income in taxes. If it is true, I would
> love to see a detailed accounting.
> 
> Do YOU pay 46% of your income in taxes? I don't--not even close.

OK, I went over the finances for the most recent year I could find the tax
return with all the data that would be *there* (1998), estimated the
amount of sales tax paid based on spending that year (I just love Quicken
and all the categorization stuff there!), and came up with a figure
significantly less than 46%, adding *everything* up.

Then again, there was a great disparity in income between my husband and
myself; I think you end up with a higher figure if both spouses are
working and are earning close to the ceiling on what you're taxed on
for Social Security taxes.

Also, Texas doesn't have an income tax, and all sorts of other factors....

        Julia