Maybe I’m getting grumpier as I get older. I hope not. I know that I am getting more opinionated. And that is what this blog is. Opinion and a little bit of blowing off some steam.
43% of U.S. households or 70 million households will owe no federal income tax in 2013. These are the latest estimates from the Tax Policy Center. And also according to the Tax Policy Center, those numbers are down! President Obama tells us that everyone in our country should have a “fair shot” at making it. And he believes that by redistributing income, he can get everyone a fair shot.
In my mind, if you are going to get a fair shot, then you should also be paying your fair share. My guess is that these 70 million households that pay no federal income taxes probably still utilize some of the services the federal government provides. I bet they still get protection from the military. Their food is still inspected by the FDA. They probably utilize national parks and recreate on other public lands that are administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The commercial planes these non-income tax payers fly on are inspected by the FAA just like people who pay federal income taxes. Don’t they get their mail from the postal service? You know, it costs money for the U.S. Treasury to print the paper money and mint the coins that we use. Non federal income tax payers use the same bills and coins as people who pay federal taxes. OK, you get the point. But do you?
Wal-Mart doesn’t give me any credits, exemptions or deductions from the purchase price when I shop in their store. I pay the same as every other person who shops in that store. I pay for my cable TV service whether I watch TV for 10 minutes or 1000 minutes. No credits, no exemptions and no deductions. Why should it be different for federal government services? If you use federal government services, you should pay taxes, and everyone uses federal government services, so everyone should pay federal taxes.
It should be like my recent trip to Kansas. We were to attend a wedding in Manhattan, Kansas, so we flew into Kansas City and rented a car to drive the remaining two hours to Manhattan. We took Interstate 70 and just outside Kansas City we encountered a toll booth. Part of me became livid. I mean it was bad enough I was in Kansas, but I also had to pay to drive on the damn roads? But I calmed myself down and I was fine because everyone has to pay to drive on that stretch of Interstate 70 between Kansas City and Topeka. No one using that road was exempted. The rate was the same. It was fair. If you didn’t want to pay the toll, there were other roads that could get you to Manhattan, but everyone going on this road, paid the toll.
If you live in this country and the federal government chooses to raise revenue to provide services through an income tax and you have income, you should pay some taxes. Period.
I feel better…
Mike Berry is a Registered Representative offering securities through Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a Broker/Dealer, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advisor Representative, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Legacy Wealth Management, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax advice.
Copyright ©2013 Mike Berry. All Rights reserved. Commercial copying, duplication or reproduction is prohibited.
