The record will be broken again in 1999. Moreover, the sheer number of taxes Americans pay is truly mind numbing. Americans pay dozens of taxes directly and perhaps hundreds indirectly. Consider all the federal taxes that virtually every worker pays. There's the individual income tax, Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes, the gas tax, the telephone excise tax and the new Gore phone tax, the airline tax, and capital gains tax.
Taxpayers also pay special federal sin taxes on alcohol, tobacco and gambling.
There are also special taxes on sportsmen who use guns, shoot a bow and arrow, or fish. Near and dear to my heart, the federal government is especially tough on fishermen. In addition to the tax on fishing poles and lures, there is a tax on electric outboard motors and sonar devices. There are hundreds or perhaps thousands of import taxes that raise the price of virtually everything Americans buy. Many taxpayers face death taxes when their parents die and leave behind the family farm or small business.