June 30, 2010

Leviathan's Loot

By Vasko Kohlmayer
Last week the British government announced that the VAT -- a form of a sales tax -- will go  up from 17.5 percent to 20 percent.This is bad news for the Brits. It comes only two months after it was announced that the top income tax bracket would be 50 percent. That bracket includes everyone who makes more than £150,000 ($220,000) per year.This means that every British citizen who earns more than £150,000 will see a half of his income confiscated by the government straight off. From what remains, he will have to pay an additional 20 percent on most purchases.There are also numerous other fees and duties -- such as the local council tax -- that must be paid to the government. The result is that some people will end up turning close to seventy percent of their income in to the state.Serfs throughout history were not ripped off to this degree. Pharaoh's subjects in ancient Egypt were taxed at 20 percent. And even though tax collectors in that ancient land were as abundant...(Read Full Article)