#187: Paying taxes graciously

How did you pay your taxes last week? Grudgingly or graciously?

Most of my taxes to date have been paid in a so-called developing country, one step up from a third-world country.

Let me tell you, based on that experience, I pay my USA taxes with a smile and a ‘thank you’. I know what it feels like to pay taxes without receiving much in return, to pay into a void.

Now I pay graciously, because I am pleased with all the benefits I get for my tax dollars - libraries and schools and roads and, amazingly, visible law enforcement.

Yes, I know, it’s all about perceptions. Each year of paying US taxes changes my perceptions, because every year another memory of third-world taxation is lost to the non-stop public griping about US taxes.

I know when I’ll be ready for US citizenship - when I have learned to pay my taxes grudgingly.


I’m james@nonsenseatwork.com

Copyright: 2008 James Henry McIntosh

James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am