Tax Man (Part I): Personal Income Tax

April 17 is tax day since April 15 falls on a Saturday this year. It is a day that is dreaded by many, but we need to reevaluate how we assess the paying of our taxes, which is that we need to evaluate the cost opposed to the benefits.

The United States pays less in taxes than most other nations. Payroll taxes are less than thirty percent, and this is significantly less than what other first world nations are paying. But the real determination as to whether the amount being paid is justified is what you are receiving for the money paid.

Government services ensure that we drink clean water, have clean air, a stable electrical grid system, and useable roads are used by nearly every American. There are government inspectors that inspect the meat we eat, the buildings we spend time in to ensure they are properly built, when there are chemical spills or unknown contaminates in an area, the government has services such as the CDC or a local HazMat team that arrives to assess the threats to the people who have been exposed to it.

The government provides security on our roads, ports, skies, waters. The FAA regulates the flight of airplanes and has rules and regulations in place to ensure that airplanes are safe for travel and that they operate in an orderly manner so there are not collisions either on the ground or in the air. The reason that flying is the safest mode of travel is that the government has had a hand in the process since almost the first day to ensure that it was that way and that it would remain that way. Every mariner in US ocean waters can call upon the Coast Guard when in distress at no cost to to the person seeking to be rescued.

Further, the government tests the drugs that we are prescribed and verifies that they do what the manufacturer claims they are supposed to do. There are of course a number of other services that are provided, but everyone relies on the government providing these services and without tax dollars being paid, these services cannot be provided.

Taxes do not go only to the “welfare state” as alleged by many on the right. The amount of money being put into the national welfare system, health insurance, food stamps, Head Start programs and other programs for the lower income groups is minimal compared to the money paid for services that are utilized by all.

So as we pay our taxes on Monday, we should be happy that our nation has devoted its time and money on these programs and ensured that we remain safe and prosperous.