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[macsnafu]

Hilarious back-and-forth between Nicole and the Churro seller in strip 282.  Yes, if you don't grow up with the idea of taxes, they just sound plain weird.

[ZeissIkon]

Hilarious back-and-forth between Nicole and the Churro seller in strip 282.  Yes, if you don't grow up with the idea of taxes, they just sound plain weird.

Sales tax (and having to file annual paperwork for income tax -- and income tax itself, come to that) seem a little weird even to some of us who grew up with them.  I don't particularly enjoy being an unpaid accountant for the government, and neither do most small business owners, from my experience.  Fortunately for my sanity, my tax situation is simple.  Unfortunately for my wallet, simple taxes means I pay, net, much more of my income than I like (just got my W2 in the mail, total deductions from my barely-above-poverty wage were more than 20%).

Just a reminder why I'm an anarchocapitalist at heart...

[PT]

I'm sure Nicole had paid taxes somewhere. Someone had to maintain L5, and at heart, there's no real difference between taxes you pay to a government and (for example) association fees you pay to a condo management. Except that you get some say over what the condo management spends your money on, of course.

Perhaps she previously paid taxes on a European model, where traders are compelled by law to quote you the tax-inclusive price so that it's less noticeable that you're being screwed.

[macsnafu]

And if you really think about it, taxes really don't make much sense.  Why should I have to pay a tax for earning an income at my job?  Or for making a purchase from a store?  Or for owning my house?  In all these transactions, government is the unwanted third party "cutting itself in" on the deal, for a share of my pie.

[ColdFrog]

Growing up in Delaware, which has no sales tax, this one was hilarious to me.  The first time I travelled to Disney World with my parents and tried to buy cheap trinkets and souvenirs, I was just as confused.  Although I doubt I was quite as eloquent in my confusion.

[ZeissIkon]

And if you really think about it, taxes really don't make much sense.  Why should I have to pay a tax for earning an income at my job?  Or for making a purchase from a store?  Or for owning my house?  In all these transactions, government is the unwanted third party "cutting itself in" on the deal, for a share of my pie.

Taxes only make sense if you accept that the government (which collects them, and enforces payment by law, and by extension by force of arms) provides a service worth paying for.  I haven't seen much of that.  They defend me, they say, against foreign and domestic enemies, but they don't do a very good job of it, tending mainly to seek revenge after the fact; they regulate trade, which mostly would do better without their meddling; they enforce licensing for lots of things (again, mostly in the form of punishing those caught violating license requirements).  Then they tax my income, tax my money again when I spend it (either in form of sales tax on everything, or as property taxes on things I long since spent the money for).  For some things, I pay taxes several times (income tax, sales tax on a vehicle purchase, annual property tax on the value of the vehicle, and fuel taxes for the stinky stuff it runs on -- plus more sales tax every time I get it serviced, replace tires, buy parts, etc.).

Where can I buy a ticket to L5?

[sams]

I'm sure Nicole had paid taxes somewhere. Someone had to maintain L5, and at heart, there's no real difference between taxes you pay to a government and (for example) association fees you pay to a condo management. Except that you get some say over what the condo management spends your money on, of course.

Perhaps she previously paid taxes on a European model, where traders are compelled by law to quote you the tax-inclusive price so that it's less noticeable that you're being screwed.

Actually it is very different, in L5 you pay taxes to maintain the condom, but now you pay taxes so that Arabs get bombed into oblivion and a drug addict gets a new dose of Coke sub, while young girls are taught how to get pregnant on your dime.

[bjdotson]

I hate it when they tax my condoms

[Scott]

Sales tax is a strange beast in that it is purchasers being taxed but sellers being dragooned into collecting the tax. It's probably the most obnoxious of all taxes, not that the others are not also obnoxious.

When I was a young lad in the early 1960s, the sales tax where I lived was 2 percent, and applied to purchases of 25 cents or more (due to rounding). I still remember the first time I went to make a 25-cent purchase -- it was a box of those sugar-stick "candy cigarettes", a bottle of Coke, and a rubber ball (I had some purpose for that I don't remember now). Total came to exactly 25 cents, but the man at the counter said, "that'll be 26 cents, please." I pointed out my purchases added up to 25 cents but he explained the sales tax. Well, all I had on me was 25 cents, so with a sigh and quivvering lip (I was 6 years old) I started to return the items to the shelves where I had found them, but the clerk took pity on me, and told me he'd cover the penny tax this time only. So, a happy ending but I never forgot the sense of wrongness I felt that some faceless entity could intrude on a relationship between me and a store clerk that way.

This might have been my first step on the road to libertarianism.

And no, there are no sales taxes, income taxes, excise taxes in L-5 City. There are user fees for services.

[Apollo-Soyuz]

I hate it when they tax my condoms

It's cheaper than child support. (and don't you know that family court skims a percentage of the fee? But of course they have absolutely no conflict of interest )

...but the clerk took pity on me, and told me he'd cover the penny tax this time only...

Hah, I remember splitting up purchases so the total stayed below the threshold. That's an annoying way to rub the clerk the wrong way.

I also remember buying fast food to go, just to save a few cents in the 70s on a local "eat in tax"

[BJK]

Tax came as a shock to my grandson when he  wanted me to buy something for him, and I agreed but he would have to pay the tax, we finally agreed when the tax was explained. He was six at the time.

[AzureLupine]

Let's face it, sales tax on food, basic clothing, utilities, and on property you own (and paid sales tax on) is wrong!  I live in North Carolina (7% sales tax rate + another 2% for certain counties)  This is robbery by the law, being "nickel and dimed" every time I have to buy something to get along.

If I could find employment in New Hampshire, or any of the other "no sales tax" states, I would pull tent here and now and move there.

[ShireSilver]

If I could find employment in New Hampshire, or any of the other "no sales tax" states, I would pull tent here and now and move there.

I'm guessing you're aware of the Free State Project then. I moved here for it in 2005. It's been a lot of fun, and work, but definitely worth it.

Its also a lot easier to start your own business here than most places. If you can't find a job, make one. I did (see my sig).

[ZeissIkon]

Let's face it, sales tax on food, basic clothing, utilities, and on property you own (and paid sales tax on) is wrong!  I live in North Carolina (7% sales tax rate + another 2% for certain counties)  This is robbery by the law, being "nickel and dimed" every time I have to buy something to get along.

All taxation is robbery by the law.  I live in NC, also; in the community where I live, we have the 2% county tax (or city, I'm not sure which), which also applies on food "for home preparation" -- not the case with the 7% state tax (actually, I think this is 6.5% now, after the state allowed a half percent rider to expire), so if I buy a gallon of milk and a glass to drink it out of, I'll pay one rate on the milk and another on the glass.  This was cruel and unusual for merchants before computers handled all the calculation as part of the checkout process; now there's no real onus for the merchant other than occasionally having to explain sales tax to someone from a state that doesn't have it.

However, you failed to mention we also pay state income tax; that was a significant annoyance after 20+ years living in Washington state, where sales tax (including city/county rates) in Seattle was, as I recall, 9.5% when I left, but there was no state income tax.  Give me a "would you rather", I'd rather pay sales tax than income tax; at least that way I don't get taxed on savings until I spend the money (and the rate is often less; states without income tax have mechanisms in place to collect required revenue elsewhere -- mechanisms which punish businesses, in most cases, but are transparent to most consumers).

[Andreas]

How do they finance air purification in L5?
Is there a breathing fee?
And if you can't pay it, are you thrown out an airlock ?