So it’s that time of the year again and we just spent two hours with our accountant. Altogether, we are paying 19,9% of our total income in taxes. I’m not talking about tax brackets, exemptions, state or federal. Just actual amounts.
To me, anything that is over 15% in taxes is unfair. Over 30% would constitute a gross injustice in my eyes. So we are a little bit into the unfair territory but not a whole lot. I can live with a little under 20% in taxes. Anything over it would start making me antsy.
So the news is neither good or bad in our case.
Clarissa's Blog 
I pay 20% income tax deducted directly by the Ghanaian government from my pay check every month without ever seeing it. On top of that we have a 15% VAT on everything. My gross income before taxes is only about $20 k a year. The upside is that I don’t have to pay rent, utilities, medical, or dental. But, I make an awful lot less and pay a much higher percentage in taxes than most US university professors.
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My total tax “burden” is around 25%, which seems fair to me. I would not mind if it were a little higher, since a lot of necessary programs are being short-changed.
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Probably more than that because you are paying sales tax.
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After the 15% sales tax in Quebec, I’m not even noticing it anywhere else.
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I live in a civilized state without a sales tax.
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“I live in a civilized state without a sales tax.”
– Hear, hear. I absolutely agree that sales tax is uncivilized and just wrong. And punishing to people who buy local.
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I’m paying more than 50% in taxes.. 😦 Add the 15% sales tax in top of that and the end result is underwhelming.
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Why is it unfair to pay more than 15% exactly? I think that you answered that somewhere but I do not remember your explanation.
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I’m not an economist, so obviously I’m not offering any profound data-based analysis here. This is just what feels right to me. I’m not refusing to pay more, as you can see 🙂 but it’s still OK to have an opinion about that, isn’t it?
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