Gilbert Gutknecht: “This is an idea we think we know about, but we do not really understand. That is, every time we buy a product, embedded…”

“This is an idea we think we know about, but we do not really understand. That is, every time we buy a product, embedded in the cost of that product are the cost of taxes. We do not think about that, but it is there nonetheless. If we buy a refrigerator, there is a certain amount of tax that is included in that. And there have been some people who have attempted to quantify how much that tax is. And so if I buy a refrigerator for $500, embedded in the cost of that refrigerator may be 22 percent or more in taxes. More important than that, it is not just the taxes. It is how much that that company had to pay the auditors, the accountants, the lawyers and so forth to keep all of those records. So the cost may well be 30 percent of just taxes. Now, if you take that many out and you put a 22 percent sales tax on that item, the net cost of that refrigerator, instead of being $500 might be $490 or something like that number.”