The Math Is In

The math is in, and you won’t like it. This is the time of year when I spend several hours sorting through papers from the previous year to deliver to my tax guy so that he can deliver them back to me with his bad news.

I know the Bible says to pay your taxes (“Render to Caesar” and all that jazz), but that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it. And because I’m sometimes a glutton for self-flagellation, I decided to tally up how much I’m paying in taxes every year.

On my not too lavish income I figure I pay the following:

Federal Income Tax (average rate): 11.00%
Social Security (deducted from my pay): 7.65%
Social Security (employer share): 7.65%
State Income Tax: 6.00%
Property Tax: 4.00%
Sales tax: 4.00%

Total as a percentage of income: 40.3%

Plus --- taxes not included in this total are government charges on my phone bill, utility bills, toll booths, gasoline taxes, excise taxes on tires, car batteries, license fees, and disposal fees on old motor oil and tires.

So the math is in at least somewhat, and it looks to me like almost 50% of what I make is going into public coffers. Even so, those folks are telling me that I’m not paying enough, and I shouldn’t be so selfish as to say otherwise. Just sit down and shut up!

I reflect on this because even Pharoah’s Egypt required only 20%, and that resulted in the people’s subservience to the state. God seems to think that 10% is enough to do his work. But of course we get more from our government than we do from God. Don't we?