Most hated tax?

Through the years, I’ve always raised eyebrows whenever I tell people that they spend more in sales tax than any other state or local tax. Readers have angrily called me to say it isn’t so. The dreaded property tax takes more, they insist.
Sorry, that isn’t true. The latest newsletter from the Utah Taxpayers Association breaks it all down.
Using the mythical “typical” Utah family (two parents, two kids, $63,074 in household income), the association calculated an annual state income tax bill of $1,967, a property tax bill of $1,347 (assuming a median-priced home valued at $231,500) and a sales tax bill of a whopping $2,106.
Of course, you never get a sales tax bill. It’s included in the price you pay for just about everything. You do, however, get a property tax bill. No one likes having to shell out $1,347 in one swoop in the fall. You don’t get an income tax “bill” exactly, but you do have to deal with it in real terms during income tax time.
So the sales tax is, in a way, hidden. It’s also discretionary, as people often point out. You don’t have to buy things. But, of course, you will. And, of course, poor people will pay a greater share of their income for this than will the rich.
Some in Congress want to pass a value-added tax — essentially a national sales tax — that would add about 25 percent to the cost of things.
As I’ve written before, this would kill the economy.
By the way, know which tax takes even more out of your wallet than sales taxes? Social Security. The association’s study says the typical family would pay $7,821 (half of this would be paid by the employer) into a trust fund that may or may not pay them back some day.
The bottom line — property taxes aren’t fun, but most of you are missing the real culprit. Start demanding more accountability for sales taxes.