So i just watched the latest episode of Penn & Teller: Bullshit about taxes, and wow, i feel violated.

Here it is: http://www.megavideo.com/?d=4YNU76M0

They brought up a lot of great points, the most interesting of which i thought was about the influence that they try to impress upon us through taxes. If you smoke tobacco, you will be hit harder with taxes and the same goes for drinking alcohol. On the other side of the playing field though, they give you discounts for being married, having children and a lot of other things. The things they do to us through taxes are pretty shocking once you think about it.

And not only that, but it was brought up that there is multi-taxing on a lot of your money. They charge you tax on the money you make, then when you have that money if you want to buy a house, then you pay tax on the purchase and then for x amount of years that you own the house, you are taxed through a property tax. So out of every dollar you make, you only really get to keep a small percentage of that. While this has been the system for a long time, and it has been accepted, it does not mean that we should continue with it.

Right now the tax code is thousands of pages long, and i really think it would be good to implement a flat tax. Not flat as in everyone pays x amount of dollars out of their salary of y amount of dollars, but that everyone pays the same ratio of x:y. that way we could end the subliminal messaging that our government has laid down through taxes. If i want to get drunk, i should be able to get drunk without paying the government for that privledge. If you (i really have no desire to) want to smoke cigarettes, then you should be able to do that, and pay the tobacco company who will in turn pay the government when their workers recieve their paychecks.

All the shit above makes me pretty mad, but the one thing that really, really REALLY fucking bugs me is that no one is exempt from taxess, EXCEPT CHURCHES!!!!!!!
Goddamn that is so retarded. They peddle an unprovable story to us, ask for our money, and get to keep it without breaking off a chunk for Uncle Sam. By that logic, internet scams should be tax exempt as well without consequence. *sarcastically written* but they're steeeeaaaaling from people. churches would neeeeevvvvveeeer do that.

What are your guys opinions on taxes? and how has the government influenced you through taxes?

You answered your own question in parentheses.

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it took me a minute to understand what you were saying, but you're right, i did. the usa does suck balls when it comes to logical solutions.

There are no moral justifications for collecting involuntary taxes at the point of a gun in an ahem "free country", but there are plenty of rationalizations.

Taxation = Slavery

And any one that believes we are truly represented needs to have their heads examined. Every four years a new group is disenfranchised of their voice in government, except for the lobbyists...

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Libertas inaestimabilis res est - Liberty is a thing beyond all price. | Sic Semper Tyrannis

IF 10% of my income is enough for God,
it sure ought to be enough for Uncle Sam!

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Income taxes are illegal...check into it. It's a pretty nifty little system they use to extort money from your work don't you say?

I don't know about illegal (though I do have my doubts about their legality), but I am sure that they are immoral being akin to slavery when applied in any tax upon income (capital gains, wages, salaries, or otherwise.)

The only fair taxes I can see are excise taxes, duties, and tariffs, because only those taxes can be avoided by not purchasing the goods that are taxed.
Of course, I personally favor the FairTAX idea. A sales tax to replace the income tax, and thus end the violation of the Constitution (its spirit if not it's actual words).

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Libertas inaestimabilis res est - Liberty is a thing beyond all price. | Sic Semper Tyrannis

Who cares about the churches?

They are tax exempt because they decided that it would be easier to abdicate their duties to provide moral guidance in the secular realm which would amount to political speech in exchange for tax benefits.

Personally, I think the Non-Profit Organization Loophole should be closed. I don't see any reason why the dumb asses in Green Peace, ACORN and all those other fruity groups shouldn't have the shit taxed out of them. Maybe then they'd STFU and disappear, because they'd be obligated to support the system instead of tearing it down like some insidious cancer.

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Libertas inaestimabilis res est - Liberty is a thing beyond all price. | Sic Semper Tyrannis