The airlines might have found a tax loophole, and you're it. The travel consultancy firm T2 recently published a worrisome blog post that is gaining traction. The airlines' extra fees, it says, aren't just costing consumers more. They're also enabling the airlines to dodge tax to our government.

Until a few months ago, checking a bag was considered a service that came with the base fare that you paid when you bought your plane ticket. That was taxed at a rate of 7.5%. But now many airlines are charging up to $50 for each bag each way, and because it's not part of the base fare, that fee isn't subject to tax. T2 says that cash belongs to the airlines, free and clear.

So a carrier like United, T2 writer Timothy O'Neil-Dunne calculates, would be cheating Uncle Sam out of tax income of $7.5 million for each $100 million it makes on extra fees. Given that United recently surmised that it stood to make $700 million on its extra fees, that's a lot of cash that won't be going to our schools, our roads, our veterans programs, and our elaborate Wall Street bailouts. Not only do consumers get screwed by these extra fees, they get screwed out of the greater good of tax revenue.

If you itemize deductions on your income tax return, you can deduct either state and local income taxes paid, or sales taxes paid. You can deduct whichever is larger. For most taxpayers, it will make more sense to deduct the state/local income taxes paid. For those living in states with no income tax or for those who made a very large purchase subject to sales tax, the deduction for sales taxes paid will be more advantageous.

Included in your deduction for state income taxes paid will be whatever amounts were withheld on your paychecks and reported on your W-2, any state taxes paid during 2007 for a prior year amount owed, any state tax estimates paid during 2007, any state tax refund from a prior year that you elected to have applied to 2007 taxes. You should not deduct any penalties or interest paid related to your state income taxes. Those are not deductible.

In order to deduct sales tax paid, you should keep receipts to substantiate the amount you are claiming. In the event that you do not have receipts to substantiate the actual amount of sales tax paid, you can use the amounts allowed by the IRS on their sales tax tables.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

During an election year, one of the common themes we hear from those campaigning is how we're going to stick it to big naughty businesses. Let's make them pay more taxes. They shouldn't have big profits! Let's take those profits away! What the politicians (and their supporters) fail to realize is that businesses are the backbone of our economy. Without businesses, we have no food on our tables and no homes in which to live. Without businesses, there are no jobs for people to earn a living.

When taxes are levied on businesses, someone has to pay. And ultimately the consumer pays with an increased price for goods and services. We want to encourage more businesses to open and expand, but if they are constantly threatened with increased taxes, it may take away the incentive for someone to invest money and take a chance on opening a business.

But that's not stopping politicians from increasing taxes all over the place. Take Cook County, Illinois. The County Board has voted to double the county sales tax to 1.75%. When added to the city sales tax, the total sales tax in Chicago is 10.25%. Can you believe that?

Where does all this money go? I'm tired of politicians spending taxpayers' money as if it's unlimited. Instead of trying to find ways to spend more of our money, politicians need to be looking for a way to cut costs and give back the money that rightfully belongs to their constituents.

Let me hear what you think.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.