Love this! I think it may be written into our American "DNA" to hate taxes on principle. But I've also often wondered why people hate them so much. Yes, they come out of our pay. But taxes are what ensure all our services work, like schools, fire departments and police departments, community spaces like parks and libraries, and so on. So, if we don't pay for government services with our taxes, we don't get any of these things. I think people often forget that. Another consideration: Our reluctance to pay taxes often means we pay more for some things. I'm a huge supporter of universal healthcare. Yes, if we had universal healthcare our taxes would go up. But no one ever does the math. We'd actually end up paying less through our taxes than the average American pays out of pocket for healthcare now. This, our reluctance to pay for universal healthcare with our taxes is the reason we have the most expensive healthcare of any first world country. (Side note: We also have the worst healthcare of any first world country.)
ALL OF THIS. Yes! The fact that all of these things would be cheaper per person if we paid for them through taxes really reveals the true motivations of anti-taxxers (did I just make that up??) — they just don't want *their* money benefitting someone else. I think, unfortunately, that's what's written deeply on the American DNA.
I think a big reason people have a problem with paying taxes is because they see so much waste. We know that taxes help pay for some services (example safety and roads), but more and more we have to keep paying for things. Where we live now we have to pay for trash pickup ourselves and separately for recycling. My partner is a government employee and the things they share blow my mind. Waste, redundancy, inefficiencies, to name a few. Also there is the perception (true or false) that middle and lower class have to pay more than their fair share for services that are also used by those who are more well-off. Not mention how complicated the tax system has become.
This is all true; that perception is absolutely why Americans have come to believe taxes are a problem. Our tax payments subsidizing savings, services and business for corporations, and that's awful. But if our instinct is to cut and cut and cut, we'll keep losing those public services. It's not paying taxes that's a problem; it's how they're used. We need to hold our governments — at every level — accountable for using tax dollars to serve our communities, and that includes making sure corporations and the very rich pay fairly.
"When I say I love paying taxes, please don’t take that to mean I love filing a tax return. The latter is a giant pain that shouldn’t exist" - hah, so true! Also just how much it complicates decision making...getting married and freelancing are 2 major examples where I have held off to reduce additional tax burdens. The tax system can have so many repercussions that aren't immediately obvious. Thank goodness for modern day tax software to help navigate!
The complications are ridiculous! Although, those tax software companies are part of the reason filing taxes is so complicated in the U.S. (in a way it's not in similar countries). They lobby our government to keep it complicated so we rely on them to help with filing 😡
That's such a great point about how we make life decisions based on the tax implications — which is kind of bonkers! I'm surprised you're holding off on marriage because of taxes; there are a lot of tax laws that favor married people. Would love to know more about your decision: What is the tax burden that holds you back from marriage? (Freelancing I totally understand! Navigating small business taxes is intimidating and an undue burden for solo workers.)
Good point on the software. And yes, the decision making factor is bonkers right?! When we crunched the numbers in the past, seemed like filing jointly for years when we were both bringing in similar incomes would result in a slight marriage penalty. The bonus is more common but also somewhat dependent on our incomes diverging more. Not an expert and it certainly is complicated to navigate, and at the end of the day we are finally getting married this year either way : )
Love this! I think it may be written into our American "DNA" to hate taxes on principle. But I've also often wondered why people hate them so much. Yes, they come out of our pay. But taxes are what ensure all our services work, like schools, fire departments and police departments, community spaces like parks and libraries, and so on. So, if we don't pay for government services with our taxes, we don't get any of these things. I think people often forget that. Another consideration: Our reluctance to pay taxes often means we pay more for some things. I'm a huge supporter of universal healthcare. Yes, if we had universal healthcare our taxes would go up. But no one ever does the math. We'd actually end up paying less through our taxes than the average American pays out of pocket for healthcare now. This, our reluctance to pay for universal healthcare with our taxes is the reason we have the most expensive healthcare of any first world country. (Side note: We also have the worst healthcare of any first world country.)
ALL OF THIS. Yes! The fact that all of these things would be cheaper per person if we paid for them through taxes really reveals the true motivations of anti-taxxers (did I just make that up??) — they just don't want *their* money benefitting someone else. I think, unfortunately, that's what's written deeply on the American DNA.
Yep, I totally agree!
I think a big reason people have a problem with paying taxes is because they see so much waste. We know that taxes help pay for some services (example safety and roads), but more and more we have to keep paying for things. Where we live now we have to pay for trash pickup ourselves and separately for recycling. My partner is a government employee and the things they share blow my mind. Waste, redundancy, inefficiencies, to name a few. Also there is the perception (true or false) that middle and lower class have to pay more than their fair share for services that are also used by those who are more well-off. Not mention how complicated the tax system has become.
This is all true; that perception is absolutely why Americans have come to believe taxes are a problem. Our tax payments subsidizing savings, services and business for corporations, and that's awful. But if our instinct is to cut and cut and cut, we'll keep losing those public services. It's not paying taxes that's a problem; it's how they're used. We need to hold our governments — at every level — accountable for using tax dollars to serve our communities, and that includes making sure corporations and the very rich pay fairly.
Yup. And fight for a universal income
"When I say I love paying taxes, please don’t take that to mean I love filing a tax return. The latter is a giant pain that shouldn’t exist" - hah, so true! Also just how much it complicates decision making...getting married and freelancing are 2 major examples where I have held off to reduce additional tax burdens. The tax system can have so many repercussions that aren't immediately obvious. Thank goodness for modern day tax software to help navigate!
The complications are ridiculous! Although, those tax software companies are part of the reason filing taxes is so complicated in the U.S. (in a way it's not in similar countries). They lobby our government to keep it complicated so we rely on them to help with filing 😡
That's such a great point about how we make life decisions based on the tax implications — which is kind of bonkers! I'm surprised you're holding off on marriage because of taxes; there are a lot of tax laws that favor married people. Would love to know more about your decision: What is the tax burden that holds you back from marriage? (Freelancing I totally understand! Navigating small business taxes is intimidating and an undue burden for solo workers.)
Good point on the software. And yes, the decision making factor is bonkers right?! When we crunched the numbers in the past, seemed like filing jointly for years when we were both bringing in similar incomes would result in a slight marriage penalty. The bonus is more common but also somewhat dependent on our incomes diverging more. Not an expert and it certainly is complicated to navigate, and at the end of the day we are finally getting married this year either way : )