Taxes (with a fiat currency) aren't the true tax burden.
Spending is.
Here's a hypothetical to explain it:
The federal deficit has been running about $1 trillion.
Suppose, by some miracle, the federal budget got reduced next year down to $1 trillion total.
Suppose, also, that the federal government collected $0 in taxes next year.
The deficit would still be $1 trillion, but nobody would pay taxes.
Would this mean there is no tax burden?
There would still be a burden of $1 trillion.
All of those goods and services "bought" by the government were, in fact, confiscated by fiat.
Taxes aren't what matters.
Spending, as a percentage of the economy, is what matters.
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Concerning the unintended consequences of taxes and subsidies:
http://scottgrannis.blogspot.com/201...raps-poor.html