This week in MY FRIDAY COLUMN I discuss tax day:
HAVE YOU FILED YOUR TAXES YET?
“…if you drive a car--I’ll tax the street. If you try to sit I’ll tax your seat. If you get too cold-I’ll tax the heat. If you take a walk-I’ll tax your feet.”--The Taxman by The Beatles
I think it is safe to assume that no one enjoys paying taxes. For as long as records have been kept tax collectors have been some of the most hated people around. In biblical times the tax collectors were looked on with great disdain, equivalent to a prostitute or other sinner. We think we have it bad but according to Bible-history.com in Ancient Rome every man was to pay 1% of his income in taxes. There was also an import and export tax, a crop tax, a sales tax, a property tax and an emergency tax.
Last year there was a huge debate on whether there should be an extension of the George W. Bush tax cuts. President Obama wanted to end the cuts that have benefited the richest Americans for the past several years. Republicans believed by returning more money to the wealthy, that tax revenues would increase. Even after several economist insisted that the tax cuts would never have the desired affect, they were still enacted and continue to contribute to the rising debt. The fact is they have contributed much more to the national debt than NPR, PBS, or Planned Parenthood ever will.
Last year’s election was swayed by people that were angry about rising taxes. The “Tea Party”, taking their name from the patriots who threw tea from the sides of ships protesting England’s tax on the Colonies in the New World. With leaders like Sarah Palin and Rand Paul leading the charge, the “Tea Party” seemed like a force to be reckoned with. They campaigned on things like lowering taxes and limiting the governments’ involvement in our lives. Only time will tell if they actually have any effect on how business is conducted in government.
It always surprises me when someone gets excited about how large their tax refund is. They don’t seem to understand that they gave the IRS too much money over the past year. All they did was give the government an interest free loan for the year. It would make more sense to give the government just enough to get a small refund back or owing just a little.
I have always wondered what would happen if instead of withholding taxes from our paychecks each week, everyone was forced to write a check for their taxes each year. Would there be a much bigger uproar if there was more pain involved in paying our taxes?
Over the last few years there have been several fees/taxes that have been increased. One example is last year when New Albany had to raise the amount that it charged each household for trash pick up. While there was some people that were upset that there was an increase, it was necessary in order to bring it in line with the amount that the city was being charged by the vendor. It made no sense to charge the citizens less than the household charge that the city was paying. Other departments were forced to make up the shortfall. People get mad for having to pay more for someone to pick up their garbage but I am sure they would be madder if their garbage began to pile up.
Everyone wants to live in a city that is clean with nice streets that are free of potholes. When there is an emergency and someone has to dial 911 it is important to know that the Police and Fire will respond as quickly as possible. When you flush the toilet you hope that what goes down will get to where it is going as efficiently as possible. The problem is that all of these things cost money, and each year the cost keeps going up.
Taxes are necessary to keep the government running smoothly. Just last week we narrowly avoided a shutdown of all non essential government employees. It wouldn’t take long for the average household to notice if services just stopped. We can always complain about our taxes, but I have a feeling they are not going away anytime soon.
Matthew Nash doesn't think it is a coincidence that the Titanic crashed on April 15th.
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