Can't Afford A Vacation? Blame The State!

With temperatures rising, your sweet summer getaway is just around the corner—if you can afford one.

- Veronique De Rugy

But however you get to and from your favorite vacation spot, the government is there to take a cut. If you’re a road tripper, you’ll pay a tax on gasoline that accounts for almost 19 percent of the price of refilling your tank. Even more annoyingly, a quarter of that money is diverted from relevant tasks like highway maintenance to other projects, including turtle bridges and bike lanes. Repaving the roads is low on the priority list, but at least you can experience first-hand what driving in the Soviet Union must have been like.

If you fly, Washington will get you too. A ticket from New York to Paris in September on the French airline XL costs a total of $541. Some $401, or 74 percent, goes to taxes and fees. These can include a passenger facility charge (up to $18 per passage), a federal excise tax (7.5 percent of your airfare), $5.60 per one-way trip for the “September 11 security fee,” up to $200 in U.S. and international departure and arrival fees, and more.