Friday, July 27, 2012

How much tax do we really pay?

Item	Rate	Notes
Federal personal income tax	17% (2011 est. - 18.2%)	Top 25% rate. It ranges from a credit up to well over 40%. Source
State & local income taxes	10.1% (2009 - 10.6%)	State taxes range from under 6% to over 12%. Local taxes run from zero to 2.75%.Source, source, source, 2009 source
Sales tax	9.7% (2009 - 10.3%)	Figure is the average rate. State sales taxes range up to 8% and local taxes run from zero to over 5%. Source, source, source, 2008 source, 2009 source
Social security & Medicaid	7.65%	Total rate is actually 15.3% since half is paid by the employer, but we're ignoring that to be kind and to avoid being accused of being too political. Source, box 1
Federal corporate income tax share	3%	Based on corporate taxes being approximately 1/6 of personal taxes, and that they are paid by individuals in the final analysis. Source
Property tax	2.5% (2007 - 2.7%)	Yearly average actual costs range from under $200 in Alaska to almost $1900 in New Jersey. Source
Fuel/gasoline tax	.5% (2009 est. - .6%)	Approximately 23% of the 2005 gasoline price is for federal & state taxes. The federal excise tax is 18.4 cents per gallon. Per the CPI, about 6% of the average budget is for transportation. Estimated. 2010 estimate, $.45 per gallon average. Source
Other	5% (2009 est. - 7%)	Includes estate tax, fees, licenses, inflation losses, inheritance, deficit allowance, gift, and others too numerous to mention. Estimated.