To the editor:
Dear politician:
Imagine that I earn a certain amount of money. I pay income tax on it to the federal government. I pay income tax on it to the state and even to the county. Now wouldn’t you think it is now all mine? I take the same money (that is all mine?) and with it I purchase a boat and trailer. I now have to pay sales tax on the boat and trailer from the money that I thought was all mine.
The person who sold the boat has to pay the income tax on the sale from the money I gave him that I already paid taxes on. Now wouldn’t you think that should be the end of it?
But no, I have to buy a license for the boat and the trailer every year, which is a form of taxation. If I take the boat to a state lake I have to pay a launching fee. Enough? No!
Now in order to operate the boat on which I have paid a multiplicity of taxes I have to have a valid driver’s license, which is another form of taxation. I purchase gasoline, the cost of which a major portion is taxes. (Our government makes more money on gas taxes than the refinery makes in profit to produce it!)
One would now think that’s enough. But no, each year I have to pay property tax on the boat and trailer that by this time have been taxed to death. Yes, and what about the rest of my property that I thought I owned?
Mr. Politician, this country prospered at one time in history operating without taxes. There was a time when the residents of this county rebelled against England when the taxes to them were so high that it took one whole week of the year’s earnings to pay their taxes. At this time it has been determined that with all the different taxes that all of a person’s earnings will take nearly FOUR MONTHS. This is a form of legal theft, and to add insult to injury much of this money is given away to foreign countries that only enriches their hierarchy.
I know you are not responsible for creating this situation, but you are responsible for sustaining it. I feel like I want to sell all my worldly goods for cash, pay the income tax on it and spend it all. Then you can feed, house and clothe me and pay my medical bills for the rest of my life at the expense of other taxpayers, and I will continue to live like some who have never contributed one penny to this society.
James Toney
Franklin
