The informal way in which this was written was refreshing among the many scholarly and dry non-fiction books I usually read. Her style is akin to Jennifer Wright and her book Get Well Soon. She covers a plethora of ways in which Americans are taxed in not-so-obvious ways and how often taxes, fees, and surcharges don’t go toward their specified purpose (often toward a city or state’s general fund).

Some quotes:

“Every year, Americans pay at least $ 657.5 billion in hidden taxes. Total personal income taxes represent less than half of our total tax burden.”

“Some MTA workers earn better salaries than CEOs of private companies. More than 8,000 of them earn over $100,000 per year; more than 50 earn over $200,000!”

“Oil companies make about 7 cents profit on every gallon of gas they sell us. But the government takes more than 48 cents per gallon. The feds are profiting seven times more from your purchase of gas than ‘Big Oil’ is!”