What is the sales tax or GST where you live?

5% ... I get it back in credits $95 four times a year. It is annoying because you have to guess the 5% extra on the ticket price… that most likely is not pre rounded to the nearest dollar, so you get more unwanted change in your pocket… and I know that some vending machine is going to get it.

In America we have too many to name them all. For example, we have federal income tax rates which vary upwards from 0 to 39.6 percent. There are federal income tax on Social Security benefit and unemployment benefits. Federal and state taxes on gambling winnings. There are federal taxes on gasoline and other fuels, air flights,

We also have state and local income taxes depending on where you live. We have state and local sales taxes. We have state and local personal property taxes, real estate taxes, business taxes, fuel taxes, cigarette taxes, food taxes, clothing taxes, vehicle registration taxes, we have death taxes, taxes on tax refunds, taxes on interest/savings, machinery and tool taxes, occupancy taxes, building permits, hunting permits, dog permits, telephone tax, recreational vehicle taxes, utility taxes, school taxes, water taxes…

7% here plus all the crazy ones @bkcunningham mentioned. It’s not that I mind the sales tax but rather I’m annoyed at the fact that everything is priced without the sales tax so when you add that 7% on you get a bunch of weird numbers and as @talljasperman said, you get a bunch of weird change. When I was in Belize sales tax was something like 6% but it was already calculated into the price of everything so if something was 5$ then it was 5$. Everything came out to nice even numbers and you weren’t constantly walking around with a pocket full of change.

I just realized the question was sales tax/goods and services tax. Oops. It was early when I responded and included income.

Well @bkcunningham it was but your answer was very interesting so that is good. Our GST is 10 pc so I was just wondering. My eyes spun out when I read that list. We have really high sin taxes so I was kind of wondering.

9½ here.

It’s 8.5% where I am, but there’s no state income tax.

Just bought a house in Oregon where it’s 0!
In my home in CA I think it just went up to 7.75

VAT is 20% standard rate in the UK, but not everything is subject to VAT. Some things have a reduced rate (I did not know this until I googled it just now). The whole thing is very complicated. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/forms-rates/rates/goods-services.htm

8% plus a large state income tax plus huge real estate taxes (not to mention the feds).

9.5% in King/Snohomish counties in WA.No income tax and 20.5% sales tax on liquor though.

In California it’s basically 8% but there are so many exceptions and special taxes on top of that you can’t really tell.

The list of taxes is actually longer than @bkcunningham has shown and varies greatly depending on where you live.

The list is definitely longer. It is astounding, @YARNLADY. Take the example of buying a car. When you purchase the car you pay taxes on the price of the vehicle with money you earned that was already taxed before you got your pay check. When you register the car you are taxed again and then you have to purchase annual tags and registration for an additional tax. Every time you fuel up the vehicle; another tax. Tire? Another tax. Some places even add a disposal tax on the tires. LOL Crazy. Oil change? Another disposal tax on the old oil.

@bkcunningham Whether it’s taxes to a government or fees to a private company, things need to be paid for. Businesses cannot survive without revenue, and government is a business which has all of it’s citizens as shareholders. Thus, bitching about taxes is no different from complaining that businesses sell things instead of giving them away, and saying that government has no responsibility to it’s citizens means companies have zero accountability to their investors.

@jerv Yes, given. I certainly don’t mind paying my fair share to cover all the related costs. What I hate is the monumental waste of public funds. Don’t get me started

@YARNLADY Monumental wastes of private funds are no better.

I forgot to answer the second part of the question. How fair it is depends on how the money is collected and spent. I’m willing to pay for good roads, low crime, and educated children, but not for subsidizing a millionaire. No system can be truly fair so long as it’s run by people though; we are flawed, and corruption exists.

I don’t know what GST is but the sales tax in Massachusetts is 6.25%. In New Hampshire, it is 9% but only on food and lodging. I can never remember local taxes, but I’ve definitely seen them, especially in Rhode Island.

@jerv, “Thus, bitching about taxes is no different from complaining that businesses sell things instead of giving them away,” made me laugh out loud.

”...and saying that government has no responsibility to it’s citizens means companies have zero accountability to their investors.” Where did that come from? I certainly didn’t say anything of the sort.

I agree with you 100 percent @YARNLADY.

Yes, in New Zealand we have GST (Goods & Services Tax) at the moment it’s 15% and is included in the sales price. If you own a business you can reclaim the GST on your business tax