Tax dodgers hurt us all by shirking responsibility

Josh White Jumping the Gun

Anyone who picks up their monthly paycheck to see it wittled away by both federal and state fingers is bound to be a bit upset. Seeing, in some cases, more than a third of your income virtually disappear can in no way be a good feeling.

You worked for that money, you deserve it, right?

As the deadline for tax returns nears (you've got a little more than 36 hours), dollars and cents don't always mean dollars and sense - people often forget the importance of those tax dollars and the ways in which they are put to use. Not that I am particularly pleased with the government's spending policies, nor am I particularly pleased with every venture our representatives in Washington undertake, but I do understand that without Uncle Sam in my pocket, I might not be able to write this column, and you might not be able to read it.

In looking at federal income taxes, either those withheld or the extra cash you have to send in, there is a tendency to be overwhelmed with the cost of living in this country - I mean the cost beyond that of rent and food and everything else we need. We look at the percentage, we look at the numbers, and we wonder where it all goes and why we are responsible for paying for it. The reports of $20,000 toilet seats and $15,000 hammers in the federal budget cannot make us much more secure.

I am definitely not an economist and I don't know very much about tax code (those EZ forms are amazing), but I do know that if we all stopped paying taxes, a lot in this country would change, and very quickly. Our way of life, perhaps, would be uprooted and we wouldn't be able to function.

It angered me last week upon reading quotes in The Washington Post from several U.S. citizens who were open, and even proud, about the fact that they don't pay their taxes. On the front page last Wednesday, "Tax Dodging: An American Rite of Spring" discussed national tax trends and discussed dodging tactics with a few people who take in large amounts of cash that never get reported and others who refrain from paying because they either feel they won't get caught or because they have problems with the government.

I wish there was some way to prevent these people from driving on our roads, using our public buildings, entering our libraries, and taking advantage of the many other things that are run with public funds. The biggest offenders are removed (through jail sentences), but most of the people typified by those mentioned in the Post article are not caught - siphoning thousands of dollars out of the public coffers for no reason other than greed.

The truth of the matter is that there are, of course, things that will not get reported, things that are overlooked and small cash transactions (babysitting, snow shoveling, etc.) that will never show up on the books, and it seems as if that is almost entirely acceptable, at least by today's standards. In a nation that sees a vast majority of its taxes collected, these are incidental costs that are inevitable.

But the IRS reports that more than $80 billion in taxes will go missing this year, enough, the Post reports, to fund "the salaries and benefits of the entire U.S. military." And if you thought that the defense budget was too high to begin with, this certainly does not help matters.

Keep in mind that there are problems with the current taxation system and within the IRS - it seems Congress can't ever find anything right with either. But the way to beat the system is to change it for the better, not to avoid it, as so many of our fellow Americans do.

The toughest part of the problem is that there is no way to audit everyone, and there should be no need to either. The people who follow the rules (or who at least try to) are the ones who get cheated, not the federal government. If more than 17 cents on the dollar go unaccounted for, the rest is made up by the paying public and the lack of services or loss of services is due to the few who choose to break the rules.

Perhaps some feel that they have no need to support the rest of the country or they feel that their meager wages should not be tapped, but what separates them from the rest of us? It goes back to the age-old quandary of collective goods - those who don't share still get to play, this time on a much larger scale. Should greed outweigh the public good? Of course not. But the cheaters will say that if they can get away with it, why not? Their argument: "Everyone else is doing it too!"

On CNN Headline News yesterday morning, a report outlined the success of Montgomery County, Ala., public services, citing a cutting-edge firefighting team, sophisticated policing and a strong public library, not to mention an exceptionally improved public school system. Why the success? A county income tax that helps the local economy and an extremely high collection rate. The people don't complain because they live the good life.

In a nation with a relatively low tax rate (see Sweden and Canada as high-end examples), we should feel lucky to get what we do for the small amount we contribute. Those who cheat and leave the burden to the rest of us have no business taking advantage of the freedoms we provide.

- Josh White can be reached over e-mail at jswhite@umich.edu

04-14-98