Taxation With Representation - Article 1.

The Time of Year We Love to Hate

Yes, April is the time to engage in the annual American lament about having to pay taxes. Maybe what we really mean to complain about is the fact that we have to individually "voluntarily" TELL the government how much we made and calculate what we owe - knowing full well, or at least suspecting, that he IRS drones will be poring over our tax returns just hoping to find a mistake sufficient to give the auditor a reason to drag us into an audit.. At least that's what we kvetch about with our friends, isn't it?

The truth, though, must be that we actually WANT to pay taxes, yes? I mean, how else can you explain it? Every 2 years, we elect all members of the United States House of Representatives - and it is the House of Representatives that must, according to our Constitution, initiate ALL Federal spending. Pretty much all Federal spending must eventually be covered by funds generated by tax collections. Since we usually reelect Representatives rather than throw the bums out, then, it seems clear that we have, as a society, repeatedly volunteered to pay taxes.

Really, you like what your taxes provide, don't you?

You want a sense of safety, which is offered by a standing military. And our communal desire for safety is served by agricultural inspectors and bank examiners and the Federal Drug Administration and thousands of other people just like us who are watching out for all of us.

You want a social and financial safety net - for your Mom, for your disabled sister, for the suddenly unemployed. Social Security has worked well and you want some of that available for you when you might need it, and you want more affordable prescription pricing. Any shot at any of this is accomplished by taxation.

You want enough prisons to house the bad guys, to segregate them from society as much as possible - it takes taxes to build and maintain jails, doesn't it?

To be sure, there are things that your tax money may be spent on with which you vigorously disagree. For instance, you may dislike the idea of government crop subsidies or sending money to underdeveloped countries to help with AIDS treatment or the use of public money to benefit private businesses or welfare. On balance, however, we choose to pay taxes - we choose to be participating and contributing members of society, choosing to pay our share because we value the benefits of government.

Otherwise, we'd rebel, just as the patriots rebelled in the 1770's. It is, after all, patriotic to rebel when the government is off course. If not rebellion, we would - if taxation were actually so repugnant - certainly elect representatives who would abolish the taxation system.

But we do not. We do not rebel - we do not riot - we do not even change the make-up of our representative form of government much over the years. So what do we "mean" when we complain about taxes? I suggest that what is really at the heart of our annual displays of agitation is that we are pretty sure that we are paying more than our "fair share" of the overall tax burden.

In fact, it is entirely possible that you are paying more than your fair share of taxes. If you are not taking advantage of the tax laws as written by YOUR elected representatives, then you are paying too much. You could be paying too much by not claiming all of the deductions to which you are legally entitled or by failing to take full advantage of tax-favored savings programs. You might even be paying more than your fair share of taxes by having paid off your mortgage.

We will spend the next several conversations together exploring just what it means to be paying only your share of taxes.