More Transparency in Taxation is needed!

We are all familiar with some of the major forms of taxation such as: Income tax, Property tax, Social Security, Medicare, sales tax, and gas tax. But, here is a list of some other taxes everyone may not be aware of:

Poll Tax, Excise, Gas, Import tariff, Inheritance, Death tax, Carbon tax, Blank media tax, Capital Gains tax, Corporate tax, Windfall profits tax, gift tax, generation skipping tax, luxury tax, recreational vehicle tax, fishing license tax, and so on.

Add to that the cost of compliance with the various taxes....it is absolutely astonishing. 

If I earn one hundred dollars, here is what happens:

$28 goes to Federal income taxes

$8 goes to state income tax

$6 goes to social security

$4 goes to Medicare

$4 goes to property taxes

I am left with $50. Then I go spend it. If I spend $10 on utilities, $2 of that is tax. If I spend another $10 on clothing $1 goes to sales tax.  In general, no matter what I buy, roughly 10% will go toward taxes directly. So, 10% of the $50 I spend, or $5, goes to taxes. But here is the deceiving part. Taxes act like compound interest. So, when I spend $100 at a store, I am paying more than just the 8% sales tax. In actuality, the price of the product includes all costs of production. So, when I buy a pencil, the sales price includes the taxes the lead manfucaturer paid on mining the lead in my pencil. It pays for the gas tax for the fuel the wood chopping company put in their truck. It is compound, not simple, interest. I did a quick Excel worksheet to calculate the effects of compound interest, and it turns out that fully 60% to 80% (depending on tariffs, local tax rates, etc) of a product I buy is taxes. So, back to my $50 I spend. Of that, roughly 70% of what I buy is paying for more taxes. So, $35 on taxes, of the $50. This means that for every $100 I earn, I pay $50 + $35 in taxes = $85. 

Why does this matter? Because right now, consumers are being crunched and the only winner is the Government. People complain about "greedy" corporations. But, it's simply not true - the greedy party is the Government. Think about it.

First posting

"Men and women born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by.....rulers. The greater dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding". -Justice Louis Brandeis, 1928.

A few disclaimers right off the bat:
1. This blog will not attempt to present a politically balanced position. I consider myself to be a Libertarian and Minarchist. The opinions expressed on this blog by me, will reflect that worldview. A couple tenets of this:
- An individual human being is sovereign over his/her body, extending to life, liberty and property
- Government has a place in society, but that role is best when it is limited in scope and power.
2. I typically vote Republican, as I feel it is the less harmful option. The party is imperfect, but I agree with more items on their platform than I disagree with.
3. I feel strongly that a great deal of legislation which provides subsidies to certain interest groups originates with the best intentions, yet the outcome often has the opposite effect of the intention.
4. I have no formal training in economics other than Econ 101 and some construction economics training courses. I am an engineer by degree, and an amatuer who enjoys learning about economics.