¶ … Americans hate paying taxes. Idioms that for example place death and taxes in the same category prove this. There are some very specific reasons why Americans do not enjoy paying taxes, and these are examined below. Apart from the mere principle behind this sentiment, are also some concrete and even valid motivations for attempting to evade the obligation to pay taxes. These include reasons relating to government corruption and the tendency of the very rich to evade their own tax paying responsibilities. Furthermore it appears, according to some, that the economy does not benefit from current tax legislation, and that this is mainly a result of the corruption mentioned above.
The Necessity of Taxes
Doubtlessly, taxes are necessary. The Government needs funding in order to provide its people with the highest quality of goods and services. Recreation and roads for example are maintained by means of taxes. Taxes, while applied for the benefit of society, are therefore not so much an evil as a necessity. One could therefore agree with Johnston in his assessment that taxes are the price for a civilized society. Nonetheless, Americans have a very negative attitude towards this issue, and perhaps not without reason.
Excessive and Unfair Taxes
The first and most basic reason for a negative attitude towards paying taxes is that it takes a large chunk from already strained salaries. The perception is then that the rich become increasingly rich as a result of overly taxing the poor and middle classes. Large companies such as Enron for example neglect their tax paying duties for years without being caught. This exacerbates the already negative feelings people have regarding taxes.
A further perception is that taxes are excessively and unfairly high. An example of this is the issue of transfer taxes. In this case, taxes are levied on property that is transferred at death (estate tax), during life (gift tax) and to grandchildren or other...
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