The government is determined to take as much of your money (and my) as they can get away with taking. Unfortunately few people realize how much they actually take. Here are some of the ways the government takes away the money that you earn.

1. FICA – the Medicare and Social Security that your company pays if you are working for someone other than yourself. This is money that you never even see!

2. Your chunk of FICA – not only does the company pay these taxes, but you get the privilege as well.

If you are self-employed then you get to PAY IT ALL!

3. Sales tax – the government is getting another percentage of almost everything you purchase (in some states, like Alabama, even the food and groceries are taxed).

4. Phone taxes – the government gets a fee for each of the phones that you have.

5. Gasoline tax – the government takes around $.18 on each gallon of gas purchased.

6. Property tax – the government makes property owners pay a fee each year for property they have already purchased.

7. Estate tax – when a citizen dies, the heirs receive a hefty bill from the government.

Taxes may be a vital necessity for the government to run properly, but it is important that we understand just how much the government is taking. If the taxes didn’t come out automatically and people had to write a check to the government each year then things would change a lot faster.