I’m sitting at Tasty Tacos trying to enjoy my lunch: two traditional tacos and a Dr. Pepper (Taco Tuesday is my cheat day) while enjoying the conversation two booths over: two young guys complaining about their taxes. Seems one of them put in a lot of overtime and now he’s experiencing the downside of a progressive tax system.
Well, we’ve all been there – that first adult tax return.
When I was in college, I used to take pride in doing my own income taxes in the time it took me to drink one beer (those were the days). Each April 15th, I would pull into Dirty John’s Grocery in Iowa City and buy one H.G Heilaman’s Special Export (glass bottle please, I have adult responsibilities tonight), head back to the house I rented and sit down for 15 minutes of honest accounting. My last year of school amounted to two restaurant 1099s (waiter), one 1099 from Hancher Auditorium (food service) and a 1099 from a Ben Franklin Store (unloading freight). It was the first year restaurants were required to account for tips when calculating wages for wait staff. Yep, that’s how I passed the Rubicon into taxpayer adulthood.
My anticipated tax refund had evaporated and as I got out my check book to write a very nominal check to the IRS, I grabbed a phone and called my brother to brag about what I had achieved. The Army, the Navy, the Forest Service, even the Department of Weights and Measures were now all dependent on….me!
It may seem naive in the retelling, but I was quite proud even as my brother attempted to clue me into the unfair nature of the tax code.
It was a simpler time, and I was a simpler man, but even today I’m still proud to pay my taxes. My reasons are somewhat complex, so while the simple and best reason is that I still see this as a great country, the more complex reasons are rooted in our common understanding that each of us should do our part.
I’m a citizen so I pay income taxes. I own a business, so I pay payroll taxes (both sides). I own stock so those companies pay corporate taxes on my behalf. When I am a purchaser, sales taxes and gasoline taxes. Let’s not forget social security taxes and there are, of course, many, many more… so, I pay them.
Tonight, Navy Aviators are flying the Yellow Sea tracking submarines off the North Korean coastline. It’s dark, cold and dangerous work, but they do it every night. Here in Iowa, State Troopers will roam our highways and interstate system with extra vigilance as snow and ice have fallen in one last stand of winter. If any member of my family needs them, they will come to their aid. Tens of thousands of military/first responders/civil servants/fellow Americans stand their posts, real and figurative. So, I pay my taxes, just as you have paid your taxes. Good for you, my fellow American.
