Taxes! Most of us don’t like to pay them, but we also appreciate many of the things that taxes support, such as education, road maintenance, fire and police departments and town administrators. There are things we don’t like our taxes supporting, which differs depending on one’s values and politics. We have heard many grumble, saying: “I wouldn’t mind so much if I could direct my tax dollars to (fill in the blank).”
In the most recent budget debate in New Hampshire, many politicians bemoaned the tight constraints of decreased revenue. This followed the recent elimination (effective this year) of the state Interest and Dividends tax. A similar debate raged at the federal level, when those in power sought to extend and expand the 2017 tax cuts. The state and federal cuts have saved many of us dollars that would have been spent as the legislators designated.
Some folks might now have the opportunity to do as they had planned: contribute dollars that would otherwise have gone to taxes to organizations or departments that they think taxes SHOULD cover. We resent having to fill in for what we think society should be willing to support through collective contributions (taxes), and further worry that individuals’ contributions towards things that should be in our common interest and therefore paid for through progressive taxation, could lead tax reduction hawks to say “see, the private sector can cover this, so let’s cut more…”
Despite that concern, our proposal is that those of us who have saved money by the elimination of the I&D tax in New Hampshire, consider contributing that savings to their town’s needs, to cover items that are important to them, such as public education. Towns could publish lists of specific cuts necessitated by decreased state funding. We would then be directing our “tax” dollars towards programs we would support, rather than relinquishing the prioritization decisions to Concord. In this way we could make a meaningful difference in our communities.