I'll be honest, it does sting to write out the checks (one Federal, one to Minnesota) on April 15th. In my case, due to my personal circumstances, it's usually four figures, but I do it, and frankly as easy as it is to complain about it, the evidence of my tax dollars being wisely spent are all around me.
It's amazing the bang for the buck you get from your taxes. Mostly everything used for transportation of any kind (roads, sidewalks, bike paths, nature trails, street signs, traffic lights, bridges, rest stops, mass transportation, airports, harbors, trains, ect.), almost all emergency services (police, fire, water rescue, hazmat teams, partial funding for ambulances, air evac, forest fire fighters, military, national guard, ect.), public education (schools, some colleges, libraries, after school programs, some pre-school programs, continuing education, ect.) public entertainment (parks, nature areas, developed lakefronts, public docks and launches, stadiums, community bandshells and stages, public art, public gardens, national monuments, historical areas, ect.), needed services (post office, job training and placement, healthcare, medicare, medicaid, social security, the current inadequate veterans services, food stamps, housing assistance, community advisory programs, ect.) the stuff you take for granted (sewers, water services, mosquito control, plowing, fishery programs, wildlife management, the weather service, ect.). And then there is the safety and security provided by the military, a security most of the world doesn't have, a security many, including the vast majority of our ultra wealthy, take for granted. Plus there are thousands of other government services I'm not mentioning which are covered completely, mostly or partially by these two checks. Yes, I look at the money I spend and realize only a fool would think they don't get an incredible return on investment.
Before you blindly rail against your taxes, stop and think. Are you going to be the guy who demands their taxes back, and then wonders why their street hasn't been repaired. Are you going to be the guy who insists you shouldn't have to pay for education because you don't have any kids, but then complain about how hard it is to find affordable, educated, trained, competent people to provide services for you. Are you the guy who insists government stay out of your life, and then bemoan when the DNR has not stocked your lake with the fish you want to catch. You want to complain about your taxes, fine, but don't be a surprised when I remind you of everything your tax dollars pay for.
QUERY : Should candidates and elected politicians publish their tax returns ?
ReplyDeleteFor example, President Obama and First Lady paid $93,362 in federal taxes on a total income of $477,383—an effective tax rate of 19.6 percent ... included in that were two taxes created by the Affordable Care Act: the 0.9 percent additional Medicare tax on earnings above $250,000 and the 3.8 percent net investment income tax on high investment earnings. The first added $1,752 to the President’s tax bill and the latter tacked on another $498. The Obamas’ high income also zeroed out their personal and dependent exemptions while boosting the Obama’s taxable income by nearly $21,000. In the end, because of the Alternative Minimum Tax, they paid more than $10,000 of AMT for 2014, boosting their effective tax rate by 2.2 percentage points.
Conversely, we know that Mitt Romney made headlines once he finally released his return which indicated a much lower effective rate 14.1% ... and all the tax shelters and other strategies he used.
It just makes me wonder when I hear John Kline complain about the "cumbersome and confusing" tax code ... what shelters is he employing and is he trying to "confuse" taxpayers with his desire to cut tax rates rather than balance the budget. Let us remember that yesterday John Kline voted to cut the gift tax rate and eliminate the "death" tax ... leaving a $269 Billion dollar hole in the ten-year budget.