Nobody really likes any taxes, of course. But taxes are necessary for the financing of our government, on national, state, and local levels.
But there are tremendous differences in the effective levels of taxes on people in different economic situations, because of their tax sources, pay levels, legal deductions, and other conditions.
The average taxpayer, according to the nonpartisan research Tax Foundation, has an actual tax rate of 11 percent.
We are informed, however, that President Barack Obama's tax rate in 2010 was about 26 percent. Most of the Obama family income came not just from his presidential salary but from book sales.
In 2011, Mr. and Mrs. Obama reported their joint adjusted gross income was $789,674. They paid $162,074 in federal taxes, more than 20.5 percent.
Presidential aspirant Mitt Romney, a former automobile executive, reportedly has a financial worth estimated to be between $190 million and $250 million.
It has been reported that in 2010, Mr. and Mrs. Romney had an effective tax rate of 13.9 percent after their legal adjustments. Some of their income came from investments that are taxed at capital gains rates, in most cases at 15 percent.
If our next president is Mr. Obama or Mr. Romney, the winner may expect a presidential salary of $400,000, plus a $50,000 nontaxable expense account -- and a potentially high tax bill.