Ok, this will be the short version. The bottom line when it comes to taxes is that the locality/state/fed needs $X for their budget. In an attempt to garner approval for all the increases they try to create taxes that people don't think will affect them.
I believe there should only be one tax. It could be based on any number of things, income/wealth/spending/etc.. that is not the point here.
Remember the "tax on e-mail" that was proposed a while ago? That is a perfect example of this crap. So in order to generate $X you will have to create some type of goverment agency to design/collect/ and enforce the program and it will eat up a percentage of the take. Why? Because it's a three card monty system, they are trying to keep you from knowing what you really pay.
I would love to see a state propose a monthly invoice tax system. One bill every month. Thats it, make a state law that there can be no other taxes or state fees, just your monthly bill. That would eliminate alot of useless agencies as well as open peoples eyes to reality.
Now I could see a sales tax being the one "extra" I would allow. Tourism is the main source of revenue in some areas and you would not want to stiffle that.
No property tax, no fees, no license charges, blah blah blah. Hmmm
