Ah, late January. The holidays have passed, and
instead of Christmas cards or Christmas bills, we begin receive our
2016 tax documents!
Now first, a confession: I love paying
taxes. Seriously. I see it as a civic duty and privilege to contribute
my hard-earned dollars to the betterment of my city, state, and country.
It tickles me to see public parks, snow plows clearing streets, and
public schools serving all students, knowing that I am helping pay for
them. The construction and recent completion of the First Avenue
underpass made me giddy.
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| Remember the Chickadee Checkoff at tax time! |
I may not agree with the way
every tax dollar is spent; I understand there is waste and subsidies of
things of which I disapprove. But the same way I can't fritter away my
paycheck on candy and toys, I understand that I can't just direct my
federal taxes to support the National Park Service and USAID (although
that doesn't stop me from imagining it to be the case).
When
legislators in Des Moines and Washington decide that taxes oppressive
and commit to cut them at all costs, what's a tax-and-spend-happy
citizen like me to do?
One easy option is to
contribute to the Chickadee Checkoff, a line near the end of Iowa 1040
tax form labeled "Fish/Wildlife." This little line allows you to add an
additional donation to your taxes; the funds are directed to the
Wildlife Diversity Program through the DNR in support of non-game wildlife through research, conservation programs, and education.
The
donation can be deducted from your refund, if available, or you can
tack it on to your tax bill if you owe. You can give as little as a dollar, or as much as you'd like--you can even just round your taxes due up by a
couple dollars (or your refund down) to make it a nice, even amount.
Simply put, when you love something and believe in it, you invest in
it. If you want a quality product, you need to fork over the cash for
quality materials. If you want to live in the greatest country in the
world, you can't expect to run it on the cheap. I am happy to live here,
and more than willing to contribute my share to make this a great place
for all its citizens.
Resources:
If only more people employed your way of thinking! Wonderful read.
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