Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes famously said that taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society. We experience the literal truth of his words when revenues come up short in the state budget, and we’re forced to either raise taxes or cut back on the things that make us a civilized society: public education, basic preventive health care for poor children, police, the court system. The tradeoffs are stark, and the stakes high.
While there will always be debates about the appropriate level of taxes and spending, there can be little disagreement about two things: The money we pay in taxes shouldn’t be wasted, and everyone should pay what he or she owes under the law. Whenever anyone shirks his or her responsibility for taxes, the rest of us pay the price either in higher taxes or reduced services.
