Gentle Readers,
As SASOB pointed out, George Harrison penned this tune in the 1960's when England's top tax rate was 95%, hence the One for You, Nineteen for Me line. Those kinds of rates had the effect of making tax exiles out of many Brits, including some British Rock Royalty of the day.
One who stayed behind was Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. I recall reading an interview where he talked about his take-home pay being the equivalent of about $185,000.00 US on a couple of million dollars of income (his share). Now, that's loose talk, and if you want a source cite, you'll not be getting one. Further, it seems as though he became a tax exile for some brief period of time. Never-the-less, you see my point.
While US confiscatory tax rates were never quite as dramatic as England's, both countries benefited from Reagan/Kennedy style tax restructuring.
That said, it is instructive to note that despite all the accumulated tax reforms, today's Americans, on average, work 113 days per year to support the government and we spend more on the Tax Man than for Shelter, Food, & Clothing, combined. Heck, taxes are even a bigger chunk of the budget than gasoline.
Think about that as you make out that final check to the US Treasury on April 15th. And while you're at it, ask yourself if you're getting your money's worth.
Don't matter you're political stripe, the way I see it, those guys are going to spend your money on something you don't like and it's going to happen faster than the toilet tank on a low-flow eco-friendly model can refill after a flush. Every dime you gave them in tax during 2007 was spent in the time it took you to read this sentence.
I get cranky toward the end of tax season. Spent about four hours Sunday screaming obscenities and throwing things across the room. The dogs were gone by mid-morning, the kids mostly hid out downstairs, Mrs TWC was stoic.
Tax Freedom Day is April 23, 2008.
Yes, that's Clapton.
As Always
The Wine Commonsewer
