Should We Take Pride in Paying Taxes?

I just completed payment of our 2022 taxes today. It hurt. Every year, dealing with my taxes feels a bit like a trip to the dentist -- necessary but unpleasant.?

Does it have to be this way?

When I donate money to a cause I believe in, I feel good. And I know, intellectually, that my taxes go mostly to things I believe in – health care, social security, schools, roads, playgrounds, clean water, and assistance (albeit inadequate) for Americans who need it.

Why is it that more of us don't feel a pride and satisfaction when we pay our taxes? Can we do anything to change this dynamic??

Since my recent conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning sociologist Matthew Desmond about poverty in America, I have come to believe that our collective attitude towards taxes is a serious design flaw. And it has big consequences. If the wealthiest 1% of Americans stopped evading the taxes they owe — not paid extra, but simply paid what is due — that would add $175 billion of tax revenue, which Desmond tells us might be enough to lift every man, woman and child out of poverty in our country.?

Other countries like Germany, Japan, the UK and Finland automatically calculate and deduct taxes due for each citizen, making the process easier and decreasing tax evasion. Citizens can contest the assessments, but taxes are paid by default.

Imagine if every year you received a calculation of your taxes, with a note that said — "Thank you! Your $35,000 of tax payments will contribute $7,351 to social security payments for 49 million retired workers, $8,732 to Medicaire, Medicaid and other health benefits, $4,479 to the military, $3,850 to economic security programs for families facing difficulties, and thousands of dollars to support local roads, schools and playgrounds."

Would that make a difference? I think it would for me. Construction in New York City is now generally accompanied by signs that tell pedestrians what is being built. I just love this ... it enables me to recontextualize the sounds of jackhammers and beeping trucks in my neighborhood as sounds of progress.

Here’s a crazy idea — how about if we offered citizens the opportunity to earmark their tax payments to their favorite programs, much as universities allow donors to. We could charge a fee of, let’s say, an additional 10% tax payment in order to do so to cover the cost of any programs that were underfunded. Very few people would choose to do this, but some might feel better about delivering their payments to the military, or to universal daycare, and it would remind people that their tax payments are going to essential causes.?(This may not be feasible, spitballing here.)

Others have proposed that everyone's income tax returns should be public. This would have the effect of causing those who avoid paying taxes to feel some sense of public shame, and those who fully pay their taxes to hold their heads high. We know from the popularity of high profile donations that people care quite a bit about the public perception of their contributions to society.?

I don’t know what the answer is, but I do believe that we should be able to figure out how we can reframe our tax payments as one way we take care of each other, and contribute to a functional, humane society.?

Do you take pride in paying taxes? What can we do to improve the system? Let's discuss below.

For more on taxes and what would be required to abolish poverty in this country, check out my recent conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning socialist Matthew Desmond about his new book Poverty, by America.