Sneak Taxes

Doc Thompson, filling in on Glenn Beck's radio show, created some controversy when he attacked the health care bill in a inventive way.

Thompson said (joked?) that the health care bill’s 10 percent tax on tanning beds is racist because “dark skinned people” don’t use tanning beds...

“Why would the president of the United States of America - a man who says he understands racism, a man who has been confronted by racism - why would he sign such a racist law?”

The controversy calls attention to how much Americans are taxed, and how sneaking the taxes are. The taxes we can see -- income tax, sales tax, property tax -- are bad enough. But the Heritage Foundation points out that there have long been a slew of hidden taxes -- like the tanning tax -- buried in government regulations.

These regulatory taxes do not appear on any balance sheet, yet cost Americans about $1 trillion every year...

Regulatory burdens will likely increase at even higher rates in 2010, given regulatory efforts in health care, energy, financial services, telecommunications, and elsewhere.

Anyone who uses electricity, drives a car, has a job, visits a doctor, owns stocks, or patronizes a bank is affected by federal regulation...