A Better Way to Pay Taxes
Yesterday afternoon as I drove my 11-year-old son to baseball practice, the news came on the radio. The announcer mentioned something about the IRS.
“What’s the IRS, Mom?” came the question from the back seat.
“Well, it’s the Internal Revenue Service; the part of our government that collects taxes.” (Can’t you just hear my “Mom Voice?”)
“Oh yeah, you hate them don’t you?”
Wow. I didn’t think I had displayed such strong emotion about paying taxes, but he had obviously picked up on some strong feelings somewhere.
The fact of the matter is we in the U.S. do hate paying taxes, don’t we? In fact, it would almost be un-American not to hate paying taxes.
And why is that?
image credit: Mat Honan
When you honestly examine your feelings, you probably recognize you have a whole bag of mixed (negative) emotions about tax time. Obviously we don’t like paying them, and for sure, most of us don’t understand the tax code. Paying taxes often feels like wasting money we have worked so hard to accumulate. Many feel they are being penalized for being successful, others enjoy a refund, but know they could have been smarter with that money. Perhaps the biggest problem with taxes is simply that they are complicated, stressful, and require extra work on our part, not to mention having to pay someone else (hopefully a qualified professional) to examine our income, expenditures, and record keeping for the past year.
I think it’s safe to say that filing and paying taxes is the pits, our tax code is horrendous, and the government often seems to waste the hard earned money we send them.
Take a minute to think about your taxes. Hate them. Feel the stress associated with tax forms and receipts, deductions and filing deadlines. Imagine the money leaving your bank account, or worse, being added to your credit card balance. Notice how your body reacts to these thoughts. Notice your chest, your stomach, your shoulders, your hands. Can you feel the stress? Do you like how you feel?
Now, in the spirit of my recent posts on gratitude, you can do a few things to change your attitude about taxes and release some of the negativity associated with them.
Gratitude is all about noticing and appreciating.
In terms of taxes, it’s about noticing and appreciating the benefits you enjoy that are paid for with your tax money.
For me, it only takes a moment to come up with a few taxpayer-funded things I am truly grateful for:
- I really like driving 75 on our generally smooth and clear highways. The lines painted there keep me and the other drivers safe.
- I love my son’s kindergarten teacher. Our taxes pay her salary and for the upkeep of the building. I appreciate the bus system that gets him to and from school safely each day.
- I love our national park system. From paved trails to back country outhouses, the amenities provided by our tax dollars help my family enjoy our foray into nature.
- Whatever you think about the war in Iraq, I feel gratitude for our military and it’s impact on our country’s history.
Now, take 60 seconds to notice and be grateful for the benefits of taxpayer money you enjoy. Think about the things you would miss if tax money was not available to pay for them.
image credit: dark embrace
Again, notice how your body reacts to your thoughts. Notice your chest, your stomach, your shoulders, your hands. Do you feel differently than you did before?
I know all these references to feelings may sound like crazy talk. If you aren’t in the habit of paying attention to your body’s reaction to your feelings, it’s probably difficult to do. But even if you haven’t been paying attention, your body has still been reacting to your feelings. Now you have a choice: the feelings of stress and negativity you associate with taxes, or the feelings you felt as you considered the benefits of taxes with gratitude. It’s your choice.
It’s okay to acknowledge our tax system isn’t fair, and is by far too complicated. It’s even better to work to change what you see is wrong. Either way, you have a tax return due April 15. Now you have a choice: pay your taxes grudgingly and endure the stress and negativity associated with them, OR file with gratitude and see the abundance all around you.
Of course the government occasionally does something good, mostly by accident (public schooling certainly doesn’t fall in that category). However, most of the time, as you say, the money which belongs to private citizens in completely wasted by the Federal Government. I would argue that the anger most Americans feel about this, which is only occasional, should be aggravated: It is negative feelings which will eventually drive citizens toward reforming our tax code. What you encourage would seem to lead toward tolerating the status quo, which is unacceptable in the face of the heinous nature of the IRS.
Comment by kilovh — March 19, 2008 @ 1:43 pm
Kilovh,
I’m sorry you made the leap from the ideas in my post to accepting the status quo. My idea is really much simpler than that: you have to pay taxes, so instead of harboring the negativity and stress we generally associate with taxes, approach April 15th with gratitude, and feel better!
I disagree that the anger most Americans feel about taxes is only occasional. I think it’s universal. And I think it’s entirely appropriate. I don’t however, have the knowledge nor the passion to lead the charge for changing the tax code. Anger turned into positive action is great, and I fully support it. Since I choose not to turn my frustration with taxes into a movement for change, I choose to look for the things I can be grateful for and dissipate that negativity from my life.
If you are doing something to “aggravate” our anger over taxes and work towards change, please let me know; I’d be happy to lend my support to such a cause.
I will also make the side note here that cheating on your taxes (or anywhere for that matter) is not a good way to vent your frustration with the IRS! I plan to address integrity in future posts. I’m sure it will come up as we continue to share our millionaire stories.
Comment by Emily — March 20, 2008 @ 8:47 am