Democrat Majority Power Delivers---In my home state of Maine!

[FrankRizzoXD40]

This is what we get in up here in Maine after the dems have controlled both houses of congress for the last 40 years....

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Maine
The Facts on Maine’s Tax Climate

Here are some basic facts on Maine’s tax system and how it compares to other states:

Tax Freedom Day Arrived on May 1st in Maine
Tax Freedom Day is the day when Americans finally have earned enough money to pay off their total tax bill for the year. In 2006, Maine taxpayers had to work until May 1st (ranked 7th highest nationally) to pay their total tax bill, five days after Tax Freedom Day for the nation as a whole on April 26th. The Tax freedom Days of neighboring states were: New Hampshire on April 17th (39th nationally) and Massachusetts on May 2nd (6th nationally).
Full study of Tax Freedom Day, nationwide and in each state

Maine’s State/Local Tax Burden Highest in Nation
During the past three decades Maine has consistently had one of the highest state and local tax burdens. Estimated at 13.5% of income, Maine’s state/local tax burden percentage has ranked as the nation's highest each year since 1997, and remains well above the national average of 10.6%. Maine taxpayers pay $4,719 per-capita in state and local taxes.
Maine's State-Local Tax Burden, 1970-Present

Maine’s 2007 Business Tax Climate Ranks 42nd
Maine ranks 42nd in the Tax Foundation's State Business Tax Climate Index. The Index compares the states in five areas of taxation that impact business: corporate taxes; individual income taxes; sales taxes; unemployment insurance taxes; and taxes on property, including residential and commercial property. Neighboring states ranked as follows: New Hampshire (7th) and Massachusetts (36th).
50-State Comparison of Business Tax Climates

Maine’s Individual Income Tax System
Maine’s personal income tax system consists of four brackets with top rate of 8.5%, kicking in at an income level of $17,700. Among states levying personal income taxes, Maine's top rate ranks 7th highest nationally. Maine’s 2004 individual income tax collections were $882 per person, which ranked 13th highest nationally.
50-State Table of Individual Income Tax Rates

Maine’s Corporate Income Tax System
Maine’s corporate tax structure consists of four brackets with a top rate of 8.93%, kicking in at an income level of $250,000. Among states levying corporate income taxes, Maine’s top rate ranked 11th highest nationally. In 2004, Maine's corporate tax collections reached $85 per capita and ranked 25th nationally.
50-State Table of Corporate Income Tax Rates

Maine Levies Sales Tax at National Median; Cigarette and Gasoline Taxes among Highest in the Nation
Maine levies a 5% general sales or use tax on consumers, equal to the National Median. State and local governments combined collect approximately $698 per capita in sales taxes, which ranks 33rd highest nationally. Maine’s gasoline tax stands at 27.35 cents per gallon and ranks 8th highest nationally. Maine's cigarette tax stands at $2.00 per pack of twenty, which ranks 4th highest nationally. The sales tax was adopted in 1951, the gasoline tax in 1923 and the cigarette tax in 1941.
50-State Table of Sales and Excise Tax Rates

Maine Property Taxes among Nation’s Highest
Maine collected $2,099,394,000 in combined state/local property taxes during fiscal year 2004, which is the latest year the Census Bureau published state-by-state property tax collections. As in most states, the amount collected by the state government of Maine was fairly small. In fiscal year 2004, Maine collected $45,308,000 at the state level. At the local level, Maine's property tax collections are substantial. They totaled $2,054,086,000 in FY 2004. Overall, Maine's property taxes collected per capita in FY 2004 was $1,596, which ranked 6th nationwide. (Non-resident property tax payments are included in Census data.)
State property tax collections per capita by state

Federal Tax Burdens and Expenditures: Maine is a Beneficiary State:
Maine taxpayers receive more federal funding per dollar of federal taxes paid than the average state. Per dollar of federal tax collected in 2004, Maine citizens received approximately $1.40 in the way of federal spending. This ranks the state 16th highest nationally, but represents a decline from 1992, when Maine received $1.48 per dollar of taxes in federal spending and ranked 4th highest nationally. Neighboring states and the federal spending received per dollar of federal taxes collected were: New Hampshire ($0.67) and Massachusetts ($0.77).
Comparing the amount of federal taxes sent to Washington with the amount of federal spending coming back to the state

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Needless to say, it is very hard up here in Maine. And it snows. The dems have controlled congress for 40 years and look what they have to show for it!

But who cares??? Our budget is balanced .....sometimes....

Frank

[AZXD]

Here's a national view:

March 28, 2007
America Celebrates Tax Freedom Day


by Scott A. Hodge and Curtis S. Dubay

Special Report No. 152
Executive Summary
Tax Freedom Day® will arrive on April 30 this year, the 120th day of 2007. That means Americans will work four months of the year, from January 1 to April 30, before they have earned enough money to pay this year's tax obligations at the federal, state and local levels.

Americans work a significant number of days each year to pay for things other than government, but nothing else is so expensive. Americans will work longer to pay for government (120 days) than they will for food, clothing and housing combined (105 days). Since 1986 taxes have cost more than these basic necessities. In fact, Americans will work longer to afford federal taxes alone (79 days) than they will to afford housing (62 days).

Although government is by far the most expensive thing Americans buy, there is one category of spending that has grown faster than taxes: health care. The number of days Americans worked to pay for medical service jumped from 29 days in 1982 to 52 this year, a 23-day increase in 25 years. That's almost an extra day of work each year.

Of course, the growing cost of health care is in part due to the growth of Medicare and Medicaid, which are funded by taxes. Ultimately, Americans get more taxes and more expensive medical care. As taxes and health care have absorbed more of the nation's income, the category that has taken the biggest hit is savings, which has plummeted from 35 days in 1982 to negative 4 days this year.

Tax Freedom Day has arrived later each year for four years running. In 2003, the Bush administration enacted its biggest tax cuts, and Tax Freedom Day arrived April 18, matching 1984 for the earliest Tax Freedom Day in the last three decades.

The steadily later arrival of Tax Freedom Day these last four years is not surprising. No major tax cuts have been enacted at the federal level since 2003, and the economy has been growing rapidly. The nation's tax burden tends to rise as income rises because thriving taxpayers are pushed into higher income tax brackets at the federal and state levels. Also, the federal government raises the income cap on Social Security taxes each year, and local governments have been collecting much more in property taxes.

Business taxes have also risen rapidly. Corporate tax receipts increased more than 20 percent from 2005 to 2006, and they are expected to continue rising along with the economy in 2007.

In percentages, government at all levels now takes 32.7 percent of the nation's income. The highest ever was in 2000 when it took 34.0 percent, and the lowest tax burden in recent years was 29.5 percent of income in 2003.

If current tax laws stay in effect, and the economy grows, taxes will continue growing as a percentage of income, and Tax Freedom Day will arrive later in the next few years. A particular year to watch is 2011 when all the federal tax cuts enacted since 2001 are scheduled to expire.

For more information about Tax Freedom Day, click here.

The scary line is:
As taxes and health care have absorbed more of the nation's income, the category that has taken the biggest hit is savings, which has plummeted from 35 days in 1982 to negative 4 days this year.
I guess they are saying we will all eventually be on welfare.
Can you buy ammo and guns with a welfare check?

Edit: Forgot to add, the last sentence is pretty harsh. Look out people! Maybe this is why the conspirators say the world, as we know it, ends in 2012.

[NMCB3]

Tax Freedom Day Arrived on May 1st in Maine
Tax Freedom Day is the day when Americans finally have earned enough money to pay off their total tax bill for the year. In 2006, Maine taxpayers had to work until May 1st (ranked 7th highest nationally) to pay their total tax bill, five days after Tax Freedom Day for the nation as a whole on April 26th. The Tax freedom Days of neighboring states were: New Hampshire on April 17th (39th nationally) and Massachusetts on May 2nd (6th nationally).

If you are legally bound to hand a certain percentage of your income (the fruits of your labors) over to federal, state and local governments, then from a legal standpoint you only have a certain % ownership of your person and labor. Whats important is whether or not ownership is ceded through voluntary contract. Do you recall any deals you signed with the IRS promising them payment of part of your income? How about the state of Maine? If not, then if 40% of your income is paid in taxes, then you have only 60% ownership of Labor. You are a slave from January through May. Congratulations!




You are only allowed to keep 58.34 % of your labor in a year.

You are the governments servant 41.66% of the year.

I thought we were free

I thought our troops were "fighting for our freedom" overseas?

Strictly speaking of income tax, what about the pesky 13th Amendment?

If one wants to stand on the U.S. Constitution as a legal foundation, (silly isn`t it) then the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution can be used as an solid argument against a forcible direct tax on labor. The 13th Amendment says: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

A free man owns himself. Therefore, a person has an inalienable right to own 100 % of Person and 100% of Labor, including control over how the fruits of his labor are used. A individual has an inalienable right to control the remuneration for his labor while performing any service in the marketplace; Flipping burgers, working at Walmart, building houses, working as a Fireman, Medic or Lawyer.

A forcible tax on the labor of a person is a violation of the 13th Amendment. As an example,if we work 40 hours a week, and the state and federal governments forcibly confiscate 25 % of our wages then we have been forced into involuntary servitude (slavery) for 10 of those 40 hours, and we were free for the other 30. Since we must have income to support ourselves, we have no other choice (except go on welfare) than be forced into slavery 10 hours per week.

The 13th Amendment is very clear about slavery, and involuntary servitude. Even I can understand it.

It appears our magnanimous rulers don't follow the law.

What are the troops fighting for again?

[hacker15]

You guys have nothing - pure nothing - compared to the working citizens of NY State.

"Tax Freedom Day" is just that - one day - and it usually falls on FEBUARY 29th!

The rest of the time, it's tax and take, tax and take. Read the other day that CSX is having a hard time coming up with the cash to repair their tracks in NY. Seems the state government has a tax base on their use of these tracks that's 29 times the national average....wonder where all that money goes....

Well, we also have a Mediaid bill that's the HIGHEST in the nation. Maybe that has something to do with our possession of a super strong lobby for the medical "community" (read that as unions, hospitals, nursing homes, etc., etc.) that seem to benefit by all those public dollars......

[NewXD40fun]

Find your tax freedom day for 2007 here:

http://www.taxfoundation.org/files/t...e-20070328.swf


Local, State and Federal Taxes Per Capita, by State 2006

http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/1441.html



Tom

[Brickboy240]

I honestly don't know how anyone with a shred of love for conservative values can live in the northeast.

Besides, its 74 degrees here and I have the windows open.

Have fun shoveling snow at the leftists!

LOL

- Brickboy240

[Cryogaijin]

A note about one of the stats listed in Frank's OP.

One of the lists states the "federal dollars received vs federal dollars given"

It is important to note that a large % of the top three states on that scale have extensive military establishments. (Alaska, Mississippi, and New Mexico.) I would love to see adjusted numbers without military/national upkeep funds included. (By national upkeep I mean things like Nasa's Telemetry links that dot Alaska, or NORAD, etc. They serve a purpose to the country as a whole, and their location does not equate to Pork or Wellfare)

[FrankRizzoXD40]

Originally Posted by NMCB3

If you are legally bound to hand a certain percentage of your income (the fruits of your labors) over to federal, state and local governments, then from a legal standpoint you only have a certain % ownership of your person and labor. Whats important is whether or not ownership is ceded through voluntary contract. Do you recall any deals you signed with the IRS promising them payment of part of your income? How about the state of Maine? If not, then if 40% of your income is paid in taxes, then you have only 60% ownership of Labor. You are a slave from January through May. Congratulations!




You are only allowed to keep 58.34 % of your labor in a year.

You are the governments servant 41.66% of the year.

I thought we were free

I thought our troops were "fighting for our freedom" overseas?

Strictly speaking of income tax, what about the pesky 13th Amendment?

If one wants to stand on the U.S. Constitution as a legal foundation, (silly isn`t it) then the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution can be used as an solid argument against a forcible direct tax on labor. The 13th Amendment says: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

A free man owns himself. Therefore, a person has an inalienable right to own 100 % of Person and 100% of Labor, including control over how the fruits of his labor are used. A individual has an inalienable right to control the remuneration for his labor while performing any service in the marketplace; Flipping burgers, working at Walmart, building houses, working as a Fireman, Medic or Lawyer.

A forcible tax on the labor of a person is a violation of the 13th Amendment. As an example,if we work 40 hours a week, and the state and federal governments forcibly confiscate 25 % of our wages then we have been forced into involuntary servitude (slavery) for 10 of those 40 hours, and we were free for the other 30. Since we must have income to support ourselves, we have no other choice (except go on welfare) than be forced into slavery 10 hours per week.

The 13th Amendment is very clear about slavery, and involuntary servitude. Even I can understand it.

It appears our magnanimous rulers don't follow the law.

What are the troops fighting for again?

Good post. I like to point out "tax freedom day" every once in awhile. It serves as a great reality check to people when they find out that ALL of the money they make the first 4 months or so of the year goes the the government.

It's a shame and it's a disagrace. Shame on those who think we need to raise taxes to balance the budget and pay down the national debt.

Frank

[FrankRizzoXD40]

Originally Posted by hacker15

You guys have nothing - pure nothing - compared to the working citizens of NY State.

New York is pretty bad, Hacker15. I will agree with you on that one. But Maine does have the highest tax burden in the country. Combine that with being one of the poorest states in the union and you are left with a pretty bad situation.

THIS IS WHAT WE'VE GOT TO SHOW FOR 40 STRAIGHT YEARS of a DEMOCRAT CONTROLLED LEGISLATURE!

But hell....who cares! Our budget is balanced

Frank

[FrankRizzoXD40]

Originally Posted by Cryogaijin

A note about one of the stats listed in Frank's OP.

One of the lists states the "federal dollars received vs federal dollars given"

It is important to note that a large % of the top three states on that scale have extensive military establishments. (Alaska, Mississippi, and New Mexico.) I would love to see adjusted numbers without military/national upkeep funds included. (By national upkeep I mean things like Nasa's Telemetry links that dot Alaska, or NORAD, etc. They serve a purpose to the country as a whole, and their location does not equate to Pork or Wellfare)

Cryogaijin, you might find this info from taxfoundation.org interesting....

Overall, we find that America's lowest-earning one-fifth of households received roughly $8.21 in government spending for each dollar of taxes paid in 2004. Households with middle-incomes received $1.30 per tax dollar, and America's highest-earning households received $0.41. Government spending targeted at the lowest-earning 60 percent of U.S. households is larger than what they paid in federal, state and local taxes. In 2004, between $1.03 trillion and $1.53 trillion was redistributed downward from the two highest income quintiles to the three lowest income quintiles through government taxes and spending policy.

I know it was not exactly what you were looking for, but it is still interesting.

The full report can be found here: http://www.taxfoundation.org/publica...show/2286.html

A 800% return on your tax dollar is pretty damned good! I'm going to bring this up the next time I hear that the lower class is getting screwed by our tax system.

Frank