Beginning of Essay
In the words of Benjamin Franklin, "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes" (Tyson 6). Today, every American citizen who earns money in the United States knows the truth in this statement. However, federal taxation has not always ....

Middle of Essay
.... were Republicans (Tyson 8). (This must have been before the term "anti-tax-and-spend" was commonly associated with Republicans.) Today, personal income taxes account for about 85 percent of federal government revenue (Tyson 8). In contrast, the states generate only about thirty percent of revenue from personal income taxes, relying instead on taxes generated mostly on sales transactions (Murray 2). In 1932 Mississippi introduced the first sales tax (Murray 1). Since then, all but Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon have adopted a sales tax (Murray 1). Sales taxes have grown rapidly and since 1970 they have become the single la ....