I understand why a lot of people are against taxes.
It’s frustrating to see your hard earned money disappearing from your paychecks getting used for abstract concepts and ideas, but the reality is that much of it is totally concrete. Your police station and firehouse would cease to exist without that extremely important tax money you pay out of your checks every other week. And the roads needed to transport emergency services would crumble under the weight of the vehicles without the tax money required to make them strong and durable so they last for generations. Taxes are essential to a functioning society, but I still understand why anyone would wish to pay fewer of them. For instance, myself and my cannabis-obsessed friends have always wanted marijuana legalization at any cost. In most states with recreational cannabis, you have to pay a state cannabis tax and possibly local taxes for the city or county as well. I respect a 15% tax rate, but some cities and counties have a combined 35% of taxes between state and local municipalities. I wonder sometimes if the lawmakers passing these changes into law are considering the financial burden this puts on marijuana users. And cannabis businesses have to become corporate just to survive because they’re making fewer sales when their customers have to pay a tax rate equal to over a third of the value of the entire order. Thankfully having a medical marijuana card will exempt you from state cannabis taxes in many instances. Some states still require local taxes on medical cannabis patients, but it’s a case by case situation.