Last week I introduced a new section to the andYOU blog titled Math in the News.  In this new section, I’m going to be linking a story in the media to a math topic that is covered in our new quantitative literacy textbook,  Math & YOU: The Power and Use of Mathematics.  Math & YOU teaches important mathematical skills that are useful in the real world, all at no charge online.

Taxing Valentine’s Day:

Romance was in the air last week as everyone scrambled to buy gifts for their loved ones on Valentine’s Day, but there’s a hidden side to Valentine’s Day that can put a real strain on consumers wallets.

Thanks to indirect taxes, the price of all those chocolates and flowers that were purchased probably made some people happy that Valentine’s Day only comes once a year .

Check out this article, “Government is Taxing Your Valentine,” from the Chicago Tribune to read about the effect that taxes have on Valentine’s Day, and see some stats relating to how much money was expected to be generated for the government from taxes.

For more information on indirect taxes, or the various other forms of taxation, check out  math.andyou.com.