HOWTOTALK:TAXES
Attheircore,whenwetalkabouttaxeswearetalkingaboutourgovernment–whatwewantittodo,
whatit’sdoingwellornotwell,andhowmuchmoneyitneedstodowhatwewantittodo.
Conversationsabouttaxesoftenbecomefightsaboutwhopaystaxesandhowmuchweeachpay.Asa
result,theyrarelyhelpusseetaxesasanecessarypartofhowweachievesharedgoals.So,wecanhelp
ourfriendsandneighborsseetaxesasmorethanadrainonourpocketbooks–they’rehowwepayfor
thingsthatbuildahighqualityoflifeforeveryone.
Hereare5recommendationsforconvertingpotentiallyheatedconversationsabouttaxesintoproductive
ones. 1. Connecttaxestothecommongoodbyexplaininghowweallbenefit.Firstandforemost,wehave
toconnecttaxestoourwidelysharedgoalsandvalues.Essentially,wehavetoconnectthemto
thebigideas,likethrivingcommunities,qualityoflife,andcommunitywell-beingthattapintoa
positivevisionforgovernmentandtaxes.Thesebigideashelppeoplewhofeeldisconnectedto
seewhygovernmentandtaxesmattertothemandhelpstoexplainhowweallbenefitfrom
payingtaxes,eventhoughwedon’tbenefitdirectlyfromeachandeveryserviceorprogram.
Here’sanexampleofhowtoinsertabigidea:
§ “Wecan’tgetsomethingfornothing.Ifwewantacommunitywithagreatqualityoflife
wehavetoinvestinthethingsthatmakesthatpossible–likeschoolsandparkspublic
health–andtaxesmakethosethingspossible.”
§ “Thebuildingblocksofthrivingcommunitiesarepublicstructureslikegoodschools,
firefighters,andparks.Ourtaxesmakethosethingsareality.”
§ “Ourstate’sprosperityrequiresastrongfoundation–goodschools,drivableroads,anda
modernhealthcaresystem.Taxesarekeytokeepingourfoundationhealthy.”
2. Offerspecificexamplesofwhattaxesmakepossible:Makeitrealandtangible.Termslike
“government,”“publicservices”and“publicsector”meansomethingtothoseofuswhothink
aboutthistopicalotbutnotmuchtoeveryoneelse.Instead,wecanmentionthingsthat
governmentdoes,ideallythingsthatarefamiliartomostpeople,likeroads,highways,schools,
parks,SocialSecurity,healthinspectors,theminimumwage,NASA,etc.Hereareacoupleof
examplesofhowtousespecificexamplestomakepeoplefeelpersonallyconnectedtothe
outcomesofpayingtaxes.
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“Inoticedthattherestaurantweusuallyeatathaditssafetyratingdowngraded.With
whathappenedatChipotle,lastyearI’mgladourtaxesarepayingforpeopleand
programsthataremakingourcommunityassafeaspossible.”
§ “IlovedreadingabouthowNASAisplanningournextmissiontoMars.It’sfuntoknow
thatmytaxeshelpmemakethatpossible.”
3. Lengthenthetimehorizon.Conversationsabouttaxestendtostayinthemoment–thesalestax
onmylatestreceipt,thewithholdingslineonmylastpaycheck,orhowmuchthegovernorsays
ourstatecan“afford”tospendTHISyear.Buttaxesareasmuchaboutyesterdayandtomorrow
astheyareabouttoday.Pastgenerationsinvestedinpublicstructuressuchasuniversities,roads,
andsocialservicessowecouldhavebetterlivestoday.Wehavetoaskourselveswhatwemust
dotobuildthebestpossiblefutureforthegenerationsafterours.Hereareexamplesforhowto
connecttothefutureandthepastwhentalkingabouttaxes:
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“Idon’tlikepayingtaxesanymorethanthenextperson,butit’samazinghowmuch
betteroffwearetodaybecauseourparentsandgrandparentspaidtobuildourroads
andthecommunitycollegesthattraintheworkersIhire.Iwanttodomypartforour
kidsandgrandkids.”
§ “Thefutureofourcommunitydependsonbuildingandmaintainingstrongpublic
structureslikeschools,roadsandcleanwater.Ourtaxesmakethosethingspossible.”
4. Givepeoplecivicagency.Peopletendtothinkaboutgovernmentasavendingmachine:theyput
theirmoneyinandthey’llgetbackonlythoseservicesthattheybelievetheypersonallybenefit
from.That’sjustnothowgovernmentworks.So,wehavetohelpourfriendsseetheirlargerrole
inthepictureofgovernment,includingtaxes.Wecandothisbytalkingabouttaxesastheway
wecometogethertoaccomplishbigthingsorthatthey’rehowwepayforthingsthatmakeour
communitiesstrong.AndwecanremindpeopleHOWtoparticipateinthedebate–likeworking
withanoutsidegroupthatalignswiththeirinterests,meetingwithpublicofficials,writingletters
tothelocalpaper,speakingatanupcomingpublichearing,etc.
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“IsawthattheMayor’sproposedbudgetfornextyeardoesn’tincludemorefundingfor
roadrepairs.I’mplanningtogotothenextpublichearingandspeakoutbecauseIknow
thatwecan’tgetsomethingfornothing.We’reallgoingtohavetopaymoretaxesto
improveourroadsandthat’smoneyI’mwillingtospend.Youshouldcomewithme.”
“Ourlegislatureisonceagainnotprioritizingeducationinthebudgetfornextyear.Most
ofusarewillingtopaymoretaxesforeducationbutthey’renotlistening.SoIjustjoined
CitizensforGoodSchoolsandI’mplanningtoattendtheirrallynextweek.”
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5. AwordonwhatNOTtosay.It’salwaysbettertofocusonwhattosayratherthanwhatnotto
say,buttaxesisanespeciallychallengingtopic.Sometimes,ifwestartoutonthewrongfoot,
triggeringanidea,itcanbehardtorecoverandhaveaproductiveconversation.Acoupletolook
outforinparticularare:
1. Don’ttalkabouttaxesasa“burden”orsomethingfromwhichweneed“relief.”These
areinherentlynegativeandtheycueupthedominantthinkingthattaxesarebad.
Instead,talkabouttaxesas“loads”tobecarriedorshared;and
2. Don’tcallpeople“taxpayers”-itlimitstheconversationtoonlyonesideoftheledger
(costs,notbenefits).Instead,talkaboutpeopleas“residents”or“citizens”or“member
ofourcommunity”-ithighlightsthatweareallpeoplewhobothcontributetoand
benefitfrompublicsystemsandstructures.
Herearesomeexamplesofhowtostaypositivewhentalkingtaxes.
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“Ijustgotmypropertytaxbill.Didyou?Isawanarticleinthepaperaboutallthe
propertytaxbreaksthebigboxstoreontheedgeoftowngets.That’snotright.Everyone
needstocarrytheirshareofthetaxloadforpayingforschoolsandhealthclinicsandthe
like.Havingstrongpublicstructuresinourcommunityhelpsbusinessestothriveasmuch
astheyhelpresidents.”
“Asamemberofthiscommunity,IfeelproudwhenIseemytaxesatwork,ensuringthat
allresidents,includingmeandfamily,canbenefitfromgoodroads,schools,andpublic
safety.There’salwaysroomforimprovementbutIcanseeourtaxdollarsatworkwhenI
drivearoundourtown.”
How to Talks are created by Elaine Mejia and Marcia Kinsey
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