2009

My 2009 goal takes a completely new turn from 2008. By now, we all know that Cook County Illinois has the highest sales tax in the nation. You know how this upsets me and necessitates trips to Lake County and Birch Run. So my goal is to keep track of all the sales tax I pay in 2009. I have started a spreadsheet to do this. (Does anyone know, can Quicken do this?) After just 4 days of spending entered into it, I can already tell it is a great idea. I am going to attach it here as soon as I figure out how to attach an Excel file. (I have already tried for an hour now.) I know some members of my family have a word to describe me with money, and I think the nice version of the term they use is “frugal.” Now you will have hard evidence to decide if this really is true or not because all my spending will go on the spreadsheet. As soon as I can figure out a way to get it on here, I am going to disclose my spending for all to see so we can see just how much sales tax even a frugal person pays in Illinois and Cook County. I welcome your comments.

Along with the numbers, I am tracking how easy or hard it is to decipher the amount of tax paid, the tax rate, and the specific jurisdictions the tax applies to. My early results show disclosure on receipts is limited. Why would the taxing bodies want you to know what you are really paying? Why would they want you to easily discern that you are paying 6.25% to the state, 1.75% to Cook County, and varying percentages on top of that to municipalities? If you could figure that out, you might get upset, make your purchases elsewhere, or even vote the politicians who enacted the taxes out of office! Oh silly me, never mind. This is Illinois, even politicians who sell US Senate seats stay in office!