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Tax
April 1997
Income Taxes Only Tip of the Iceberg	According to the Tax Foundation, federal, state and local income taxes combined represent only one-third ($3,133) of total taxes paid for the average family, while two-thirds ($6,205) comes from other sources. The other two-thirds of the average tax burden comes from a variety of taxes, some of which aren't apparent to taxpayers. For example, social insurance taxes -- though the FICA withholding tax which funds Social Security and Medicare -- are paid equally by employer and employee. But tax analysts agree the employer passes his portion on to the employee in the form of lower wages; therefore FICA taxes cost the average taxpayer almost 30 percent of total taxes paid, or $2,714. Respondents to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer survey in recent years have estimated they pay sales and excise taxes on purchased items amounting to less than $60 a year; but their actual cost is about $1,216 or 14 percent of the average tax bill. The Tax Foundation estimates property taxes account for roughly 9 percent of the total tax bill, or $842 for the average American. Corporate taxes passed on to the taxpayer are estimated to cost an average of $926 or about 10 percent of total taxes paid. In addition, there are a number of miscellaneous federal, state, and local levies, totaling on average $374. The total sum of all taxes paid by the average American taxpayer in 1997 comes to $9,205, according to tax policy experts. Source: Stephen Gold (Tax Foundation), "Taxes, Taxes, Taxes All Around," Washington Times, April 14, 1997.