Tax strain on citizens


By Jim Killebrew

[October 10, 2014]  Is there anyone else out there who feels like governments at the local, state and federal levels have emboldened their confiscatory tax-collection process and have begun to act like a muscle man working the neighborhood, strong-arming people to give up their money so they can avoid some calamity of harm inflicted by the government itself? I read in the Lincoln Courier on Saturday, 4/12/2014 where a writer was complaining about the city leaders imposing a tax on our energy usage by having the energy company collect a tax listed on the individual payment bill as “Lincoln Municipal Gross Revenue Charge” and another one listed as, “Lincoln Municipal Charge.” Apparently every person in the city must pay that tax that is collected by the energy company and handed over to the city leaders to spend at will.

It hasn't been too long since the leaders of Lincoln were given a so-called, “penny tax” of one percent that was to be dedicated to the schools in Lincoln solely for their continued maintenance. Subsequently we have read various accounts of how the district schools have planned to spend their “windfall” from the “penny tax.” Another story in the Lincoln Courier not too long ago reported a property tax of over $7,000 levied on a newly built property in Lincoln; the builder was having a difficult time selling the property with such a high tax.


The state political leaders are in the process of deciding to make a 67% increase in taxes enacted as a temporary tax a permanent tax while at the same time offering a budget that continues to support out-of-control spending when the state is already sitting at 49th to 50th in negative economic standing nation-wide. One only need examine the state’s taxing structure and spending plan to understand why Illinois is in such a fiscal free-fall. Tax and spend seems the mantra from the State House to the Executive Mansion. Between the Speaker of the House and the Governor we need to be prepared to have already dwindling fixed-income checks plummet further.
 

Of course the federal government is drunk on taxes, spending and favoring everything non-affordable. In recent months we have seen increases in taxes, increases in health insurance deductibles and higher premiums. Even with deep cuts to the military we continue to see a rise in spending that has sky-rocketed the national debt to unprecedented amounts.

I heard on the Rush program on tax day, April 15, a snippet of information while driving to the bank to get money for taxes to pay over the amount that was deducted last year that there have been 472 tax increases since the President was inaugurated. He reported statistics that the top 1% wage earners pay 30% of the total federal tax receipts. He said that the top 20% of wage earners account for 60% of the total tax receipts; the bottom 50% pays “next to nothing.” He said of those in the 20% group includes families of two parents and two children where the parents combined make $150,000. For a family of four that is not a lot of money, yet they are part of the group that pays 60% of the tax. It makes you wonder where the tipping point is when revolution will be considered by “We the People.”

Consider after federal taxes are paid, the family still has state taxes, local taxes, property taxes and all sales taxes. The net income is dwindling so quickly people are barely making ends meet.

All of these positions from government promise to make life a lot more difficult on the average citizen if they don’t pay up. Back in the day that form of shake-down used to be referred to as a form of hustling from a strong-arm neighborhood hoodlum running a protection racket; pay up or give it up. Can’t we do better than that in our town, our state and America?

[By JIM KILLEBREW]