When the general excise tax was raised on businesses in Hawaii a couple years ago, that immediately increased the cost of goods and services for consumers. This always happens when the government raises taxes on businesses. Anytime the government makes it more costly for businesses to operate by, among other things, raising taxes, the consumer suffers. Taxes are a cost of doing business, borne at the end of the day by everyone up and down the income ladder.
OK, I see where the miscommunication has come in. Absolutely I agree an increase in the cost of doing business gets passed onto the consumer.
When the original poster posed the question, I assumed he was refering to
income taxes, since he asked how many
people, as opposed to how many
businesses. However, notwithstanding, this is not a tax increase on consumers, ...it is an increase in their cost of living. much different. Granted the end result may be the same, consumers spending more for the same or sometimes less.
