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YOUR $1,000
$1,000
YOUR $1,000$1,000
$100,000/yr · California

You earned $1,000.
Let’s see how much of it survives.

↓
LEG 1 — YOU EARN IT
Federal Income Tax
17.1%
−$171
$829 left

The first cut. Before you see it. Before you touch it. Before you do anything with it.

California Income Tax
9.3%
−$93
$736 left

California takes its cut too. For the privilege of living here.

Social Security (FICA)
6.2%
−$62
$674 left

A promise from 1935. You’ll get it back, they say. Adjusted for inflation, you won’t.

Medicare (FICA)
1.5%
−$15
$660 left
BEFORE YOU BUY ANYTHING
$660left
You lost $340 of your $1,000 just for earning it.

You haven’t bought a thing. Haven’t eaten. Haven’t driven anywhere. This is the cost of showing up.

LEG 2 — YOU LIVE
Housing
1.2%
−$12
$648 left
TAXES HIDING INSIDE
Property tax (avg 1.1% of home value)
Utility surcharges & franchise fees (10–15% of every bill)
Sewer, water, trash levies

You bought the house. You paid the tax. But you never stop paying. Miss a year and find out who really owns it.

Getting Around
1.8%
−$18
$631 left
TAXES HIDING INSIDE
Gas tax: federal $0.18 + state avg $0.39 per gallon
Vehicle sales tax (paid once, felt forever)
Registration, title, inspection fees
Tolls & congestion charges

Every mile you drive, they ride along. The tax is baked into the price. You never see a line item. That’s the point.

Everything You Buy
1.6%
−$16
$615 left
TAXES HIDING INSIDE
Sales tax: 8.7% on every purchase (California)
Cell phone: ~22% of your bill is taxes & fees
Internet: same telecom tax stack
Insurance: state premium taxes on every policy
Restaurant tax (higher than retail in many cities)

You earned it. They taxed it. Now you spend it — and they tax it again. The same money. Twice.

Sin & Vice
0.6%
−$6
$609 left
TAXES HIDING INSIDE
Alcohol excise: $0.50–$3.00 per drink (federal + state)
Tobacco: $1.01 federal + state avg $1.91 per pack
Cannabis: 15–37% tax where legal
Amusement & entertainment taxes

They tax your stress relief too. The bottle. The smoke. The concert. Even fun has a surcharge.

AFTER LIVING YOUR LIFE
$609left
They took $51 more from the $660 you had left.

Every dollar you spent had a tax riding on it. None of them showed up on your paycheck. All of them showed up in the price.

LEG 3 — YOU SAVE IT
Capital Gains Tax
15.0%
−$9
$599 left

You didn’t spend it. You saved it. It grew. They want a cut of the growth. For doing nothing.

LEG 4 — YOU DIE
Estate / Inheritance Tax
2.0%
−$12
$587 left

You earned it. They taxed it. You spent it. They taxed it. You saved it. They taxed it. You died. They taxed it again.

THE VERDICT
$587
of your $1,000 survived.
That’s 100 of these. Every single one — cut up like this.
WHAT THEY TOOK
$413
41.3%
$41,261/yr
WHAT YOU KEPT
$587
58.7%
$58,739/yr

No receipt. No vote. No opt-out.
You didn’t agree to this. None of us did.

Think the system that takes this much would at least be simple?
See the Tax Code →COMING SOON
Think they’d at least spend it well?
See Where It Goes →COMING SOON
Want to see what they waste in real-time?
Waste & Fraud →COMING SOON
STAY IN THE LOOP

This is just the beginning.

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