The Empire State. Accurately named for its strong emphasis on redistributing hard-earned wages as it sees fit.
In the Great State of New York we pay taxes on the money we earn to the federal and state governments.
We pay taxes on the things we buy with that money.
We pay taxes on our properties annually to our town or city, school and county.
If you are fortunate enough to live in a village, you’ll pay taxes one additional time just to keep ownership of the property you purchased. And generally, you’ll pay taxes when you buy property in New York State.
We pay additional taxes on gasoline and even home heating fuels. If you live in a city, village, or hamlet with a district you pay fees for water and sewer as well.
We pay additional taxes to register our cars, our boats and ATVS. We pay fees to license our pets. We pay additional fees to drive, hunt and fish. We pay more fees to drive on certain highways.
Soon, we can add ammunition to the list of additional fees for background checks. Make no mistake – a fee paid to the state is a tax by another name.
There’s long been talk of adding taxes to soft drinks and other unhealthy items. There have been proposals to actually make it happen. There have even been suggestions that we tax cow farts, and it’s not just hot air, it’s a real possibility.
Our state representatives redistribute the money taken from us in various ways, though representatives from our area fall into the minority party and have little say about how that money is spent.
I don’t claim to be all knowing, and I know I’m oversimplifying here, but I must say I feel like the redistribution often falls short of benefiting those who it’s been collected from.
Major tax breaks are doled out to corporations, sports teams, energy initiatives and businesses in the name of job creation and economic development. Tax refunds are afforded to those with lower incomes as are other social welfare programs with income cut-offs usually based on your…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply