Thanksgiving is a time for reuniting with family and friends, but Uncle Sam will be joining you again this year in the form of taxes.  So say Jacob Feldman and Mattie Corrao of Americans for Tax Reform, who have determined the government tax bite for several aspects of your Thanksgiving weekend.

Many of these items are subject to the costs of income taxes, payroll taxes, corporate income taxes, and other taxes on business activity. Government then includes additional fees and excise taxes that further increase the cost of providing specific items or services.

Your travel:  The average $376 Thanksgiving flight consists of $43.57 in taxes. If you are driving, 45.3% of your fill-up goes to taxes.

Once you arrive, you just might wish to unwind with your relatives (or cope with your in-laws) by opening a bottle of your favorite wine. Uncle Sam gets 32.8% of the purchase price in taxes.

The average cost of a Thanksgiving meal for ten is just under $50.  As you enjoy your bountiful meal, try to be thankful that the government gobbles up “only” $13.68 of that total.

Now that you’re done feasting and the tryptophan is kicking in, it’s time to repair to the couch for some football. As you send your cousin Eddie out on a beer run, let him know the government tax bite on a case of beer is 44.3%.

Overall, of the $10 billion in overall spending that occurs during Thanksgiving weekend on gas and plane tickets, wine and beer, and the meal itself, government taxation consists of 35.9% of those expenses—approximately $3.6 billion.

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In a move that grabbed attention among the technology and retail business communities, three senators—Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN)—introduced legislation aimed at allowing states to require online-only, out-of-state retailers to collect and remit to states tax on sales made to residents of those states.

In a press release, the three senators touted their legislation as an effort to give states “the option to collect sales and use tax revenues from out-of-state sellers through a new, simplified tax system,” but “only if they adopt certain minimum simplification requirements and provide sellers with additional notices on the collection requirements.”  The Enzi-Durbin-Alexander bill also “exempts sellers who make less than $500,000 in total remote sales in the year preceding the sale.”  It reportedly has the support of big bricks-and-mortar retailers like Wal-Mart and Home Depot, as well as Amazon.com.

In multiple states around the country over the past year, legislators and officials have been looking to sales made by out-of-state, online-only retailers as a potential revenue stream capable of being tapped in order to help fill budget holes. California has been notably aggressive in pursuing a so-called “Amazon Tax,” which would force retailers like Amazon.com and O.co to collect and remit to the state sales tax on sales made to Californians.

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Across the country, states big and small are facing significant budget gaps.  In California, the worst case by far, candidates for state office are debating how to close a $19 billion budget deficit.  In Florida, meanwhile, another multi-billion dollar budget hole is on the cards, and looks set to grow with oil drilling off the Florida coast now off the table.  Still other states are facing similar situations, if on a less disastrous scale.  While many serving in statehouses nationwide will advocate for spending cuts, as opposed to tax increases, in some states, tax hikes are already being put on the table, with so-called “sin taxes” demonstrating renewed appeal.

Washington State recently increased taxes on beer and cigarettes in an effort to stop its own fiscal bleeding (though left-leaning figures in the state have also been arguing for a state income tax).

In Illinois, a proposal to increase cigarette taxes that went nowhere last year has now been resuscitated.

In Florida, where ongoing budget woes are anticipated, concern exists that legislators could jack up cigarette taxes again.  Last year, the State Senate—including its Republican members, led by Senate President Jeff Atwater and budget committee chief J.D. Alexander—unanimously voted to increase cigarette taxes by $1 a pack.  The House ultimately played ball, too, and Gov. Charlie Crist gave a thumbs up to the tax hike, which was expected to bring in anything from $700 million to $1 billion.

In New York, where cigarettes are already extensively taxed and can sell for as much as $9 per pack, further increases could be on the agenda, too.

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In early 2008, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson grabbed national attention when he ran for the Democratic nomination for President. He dropped out early in the race but still made headlines for endorsing Obama over Hillary. As thanks, Richardson was named the nominee for Commerce Secretary.  One of the first scandals of the Obama Administration followed almost immediately.  Due to a controversy surrounding a pay-to-play scandal, Richardson was forced to withdraw his name from consideration after only one month.

Richardson quietly slipped out of the national spotlight and most Americans forgot about New Mexico’s corrupt Governor.  Most don’t realize that prosecution for the scandal was quietly discontinued when the Obama team drained the investigator’s budget resource, leaving them unable to pursue prosecution.  The case is still pending and will likely remain that way.

Now back in New Mexico in his final year as Governor, the behavior of a man who was an inconvenient nuisance to the Obama team has revealed itself to be nearly cataclysmic to my state’s future.

Just seven years ago, New Mexico was one of only a handful of states in the black, thanks to the leadership of our previous Republican Governor.  Now, we’ve got an estimated $500 million deficit this year thanks to a government that continues to loot the pockets of taxpayers.

Aside from the absurd corruption, pay-to-play scandals and shady investment deals one of the most obvious evidence of poor management is the sheer size of New Mexico’s government.  With new state agencies and 4,500 new employees, our state government has grown by more than 50% in the last 7 years costing taxpayers $250 million annually. Further, the numbers don’t even include the hundreds of exempt political appointees now drawing a government paycheck.  Those people got jobs as payback for family, favors and financial contributions. Estimates put new political appointees in the neighborhood of 450 costing taxpayers around $50 million a year.

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Colorado, like every other state in the nation, is struggling with revenue.

So what’s a state to do? Well, let’s see, the state already taxes income, gas, sales on goods, personal property, corporate income, entertainment, energy, phones, etc. All that’s left to do is…tax a tax.

Never happen you say?

Coloradans must pay a $1.50 waste-tire fee every time they dispose of an old tire at a retail outlet. And according to an “FYI Memo” from the state department of revenue, “Effective August 5, 2009, the waste tire recycling development fee is considered part of the purchase price and is subject to sales tax.”

Based on the revenue of the waste-tire fee from previous years, this means the state and other sub-governments could collect a grand total of anywhere between $300,000 to $500,000…all because they are taxing a fee.

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