A Poem on Taxes

[faraithi]

I just discoverd this:

Hip Forums - View Single Post - No tax laws in the usa is that true?
 http://www.hipforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3097948&postcount=12

Tax his land,  
Tax his bed,
Tax the table
At which he's fed.

Tax his  tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.

Tax his  cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.

Tax his  ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.

Tax his  tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.

Tax  his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries, then
Tax his tears.  

Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass  

Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won't be done
Till  he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers,
Then tax him some  more,
Tax him till
He's good and sore.

Then tax his coffin,  
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he's laid.

Put these  words
upon his tomb,
"Taxes drove me
to my doom..."

When  he's gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to appl y
The inheritance  tax.  

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit  Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette  Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License  Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax  (FUTA)  
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel permit tax
Gasoline Tax (42 cents  per gallon)
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Interest  expense  
Inventory tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of  tax)  
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License  Tax  
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service charge  taxes  
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Sales Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax  (SUTA)
Telephone  federal excise tax
Telephone federal universal service fee tax  
Telephone  federal, state and local surcharge taxes
Telephone minimum usage surcharge  tax
Telephone  recurring and non-recurring charges tax
Telephone state and local  tax
Telephone  usage charge tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration  Tax
Vehicle Sales  Tax
Watercraft  registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

COMMENTS: Not one of these  taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the  world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in  the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.
 
 What  happened?

[amuse]

The govt is greedy. Not sure about America but in some countries federal taxes started out as a way to fund the wars (WWI?) but when the wars were over they just left it the way it was, then eventually made revisions to increase taxes even more.

But because of taxes, anyone who specializes in taxes as a career will make really good money working for banks, large corporations, etc

[Slack]

In the 1920s, the depression hit. Things were pretty bad, so the government started taking an active role in trying to fix it. They did this by starting public works and more government jobs, each of which required money. 100 years ago, the US government didn't have much stake in what the rest of the world did. The two world wars, and the cold war put a firm end to that.
 
In other words, that tax money went to accomplish things. Interstate highways, electrical projects, welfare, medicare, medicaid, social security, and a whole lot of public universities are just the things I can think of off the top of my head that these new taxes paid for. And if you want to talk about government subsidies for struggling farmers and other industries, that's a whole new barrel of fish. Few of these programs were even conceived of 100 years ago, yet alone paid for.
 
Ultimately, without those taxes, big projects would never get done. Can you imagine the dozens of universities, millions of miles of road, or the myriad power plants that never would have been created without these new taxes? I doubt whether private citizens could or would have paid for any of this with the money they saved from not paying these new taxes. Considering that many of these programs helped the US recover from the depression and grow economically, I doubt whether there would have been enough money in existance for these projects.
 
Of course, that's just my opinion on why taxes are necessary for government to actively serve the public. The opposite view would be to not tax at all, have a tiny government, and have everyone look after themselves. That approach has it's own set of pros and cons that are too deep to delve into here.

[JFC]

Funny thing is, I just received my Income Tax forms in the mail today.