| Taxes, along with death, as they say, are the only | | | | taxes such as those on cigarettes and alcoholic |
| certain things in life. It may seem unpleasant as you | | | | beverages. |
| have to give to the state a portion of what you have | | | | - Income Taxes. The growth of the US economy may |
| earned through hours of hard work. But unpleasant as | | | | be answered by this solitary variety of tax. Income |
| it may be, this is the backbone of everything we have | | | | taxes in the US are the main source of income for the |
| around us: the roads, the hospitals, the schools, police | | | | federal government. Most of these are on salaries, |
| and national defense, and health services, amongst | | | | although a portion comes from dividends, rents and |
| others. Just about everything around us is taxed: what | | | | capital gains. |
| we eat, what we buy, how much we earn, or the | | | | - Property taxes. These are taxes paid for the simple |
| properties we own. So what are taxes? | | | | fact of owning a real property such as land and house. |
| Different Types of Taxes | | | | You are obliged to pay property taxes as long as you |
| As an attempt to answer the question, "what are | | | | own real properties. It is an important US tax that is |
| taxes?" the following classification of taxes levied in | | | | based on wealth. |
| the U.S. may be helpful: | | | | - Capital gains taxes. These are taxes paid for the |
| - Excise tax. Excise tax is a form of "special tax." It is | | | | income you gained from selling properties. |
| levied only on a specific commodity, particularly on | | | | - Federal taxes. Federal taxes are a generic name |
| "luxury items" that poor families cannot afford. The | | | | applied to taxed levied by the federal government. This |
| federal government imposes a number of excise | | | | includes income taxes and property taxes. |