Taxes in America are of two types, federal taxes
that go to the benefit of the central government, and taxes imposed by state
and local governments.
The types of federal taxes and taxes levied by
state and local governments are similar, but some taxes are specific to only
the federal government. For example, customs on imports from abroad are owned
by the federal government (customs collection in America is done through a
federal agency called U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
This agency is affiliated with the Department of
Homeland Security. The US Constitution prohibits US states from imposing
customs duties on goods imported from other US states.
Types of taxes in the United States of America
The most important taxes in America are the
following:
Income taxes
These taxes are imposed on individuals and
companies and include an alternative minimum tax, corporate income taxes, and
capital gains taxes.
Federal income taxes in America are progressive,
meaning that they increase as an individual's annual income increases. For
example, an individual's annual income of no more than $8,925 is taxed at 10%,
but an individual's annual income over $400,000 is taxed at 39.6%.
These percentages change from time to time (when
Republicans dominate Congress they lower the rate of escalation, meaning they
flatten it, and when Democrats control Congress they make the escalation more
severe, as is the case now).
In the American tax system there are a lot of
tax deductions. For example, there is a general deduction for all American
citizens called standard deduction. The value of this deduction is currently
$6,200.
This withholding means that the IRS will deduct
$6,200 from the amount of taxable income that must be withheld.
For example, if my annual income is $50,000, the
IRS will subtract $6,200 from it before calculating my tax.
Payroll taxes
In America (as elsewhere) a portion of an
employee's salary is withheld as a tax to the government. This tax goes to the
federal government and local governments and its value is 15.3%.
Property tax
Tax paid by a person on his real estate. This
tax goes to local governments and its value ranges between 0.2% and 4%. This
tax differs from the wealth tax, which covers all one's property. Wealth tax is
prohibited by the US Constitution (unless the proceeds are distributed among
the US states according to the number of their souls).
Sales tax sales tax
Tax paid by the seller for each sale. Its value
in America ranges between 1% and 10%. This tax is considered an indirect tax on
the buyer, because the seller collects its value from the buyer.
Local taxes ex
Taxes imposed by the government on sellers who
sell items deemed harmful to society, such as tobacco, alcohol and petroleum products.
These taxes are indirect taxes on the consumer because they lead to higher
prices for tobacco, alcohol and petroleum products. The US federal government
takes a tax of 4.86 cents for every liter of motor fuel (gasoline), and a tax
of 6.45 cents for every liter of diesel.