As the 2014 tax season approaches, Americans are given an annual reminder of the cost of freedom. For many of us, that cost is paid in hardships and headaches, as well as dollars.

Nobody likes taxes, but most of us understand it as a necessary evil. However, most average Americans don’t have any idea how the tax system works; it is insanely and unnecessarily complicated.

As far I know, a portion of my income is systematically taken by the government to be spent on who knows what and it disappears… out there… in the ether... never to be seen again.

As comedian Chris Rock once said, “You don’t even pay taxes. They take tax. You get your check, money gone.”

American taxpayers put up with a disturbing amount of fraud. Many of these scams were aided by an increasingly convoluted tax system. However, perhaps the most disturbing tax evasions are the ones that occur legally. Corporate tax evasions cost our nation billions of dollars a year, and individual Americans pay for it. America needs a tax reform that will return the benefit to the average citizen. An understanding of taxes at the individual level is a good start.

The following infographic illustrates how taxes have evolved over the last century. It shows the money (as well as complications) that has been made from the taxing of various entities, from corporations to candy bars.

credit: Online Accounting Degrees