Summer vacation can be taxing if you work

(Advisor's note: Mr. Chutchian's Comparative Government and Economics classes interviewed working adults about taxes. If you work this summer, you will pay taxes. Good Americans thank you.)

It's easy to get taxpayers talking about taxes
By Susan Gary

Taxes are a touchy subject. The majority of the population believes they are paying touch much, taxes are too confusing, and they are unfair. That’s what I hear, but I decided to find out for myself by interviewing people who pay taxes.

     I interviewed Michele Gary from Mechanic Falls, employed at Home Depot, Matthew Gary from Mechanic Falls, co-owner of TwinConstruction, Charles Yancey, science teacher at Poland Regional High School, and Ian Truman, literature teacher at Poland Regional High School and lead singer of Dead Season.

     Michele Gary said,  “I think it should all be a flat rate for everybody because it would be way confusing if poor people paid a lower tax, middle class people paid a higher tax and rich people paid an even higher tax.”

     Interesting. But what are people willing to pay for a flat rate?

     Charles Yancey was very particular in how much he was willing to pay. “I think you should pay 8% of your income to the Town, 5% of your income to the State, and 2% of your income to the Federal Government. Fifteen percent total taxes taken from my income. . . Thus our local community would have a far greater amount to spend on things that support our community, instead of sending that money to the federal government, which spends it on needless wars, needless army bases, needless aid to other countries, and needless bailouts for private companies like GM.” 

While doing research I also found that there was a controversy over how debt affected taxes. When in debt on investments such as mortgages, college loans and a 401K retirement plan, you are able to get your taxes lowered in order to help pay off those debts.

      Some people search for investments that they can make to get those tax cuts for themselves. Others, like Charles Yancey, feel differently.  “It is the job of a responsible citizen to pay those debts back while still paying their share of the taxes,” he said.

 Ian Truman, on the other hand, said, “Mortgage and education should definitely get tax breaks. People should be rewarded for investing in themselves.” 

      Matthew Gary looked at the problem from a different angle: “It’s disturbing to keep pushing our debt onto our grandchildren. You should not be able to write off debt unless it’s a business expense.” If you have the ambition to start up your own business and risk your own money for the community, you should also get a break, Gary believes. He  went on to talk about how far in debt our nation is, which is another interesting topic. Currently the U.S. is about $8.5 trillion in debt and gaining $1.5 billion every day. That means it would cost each U.S. citizen about $30,000 to pay off the national debt.

     Everyone has an opinion on taxes. If citizens were more informed on the topic, how would their opinions change?

Taxes: Pay up and hope for the best
By Emma-Jane Turton

     The American taxpayer’s definition of taxes is not the same as the New Oxford American Dictionary definition of taxes.

    Douglas Turton, assistant manager at the Ninety-Nine Restaurant in Topsham, said taxes “are a fact of life but necessary to maintain education, human services and infrastructure.” 

     Christine Plourde-Rand a psychiatric nurse practitioner at St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston, said that while she feels that they are not something she enjoys paying, she knows that they are needed to provide services and resources to those living in this country and community. 

     A man who has his salary paid by taxpayers, Trevor Tidd, a robotics and wood shop teacher at Poland Regional High School, says he’s willing to pay the taxes that are fair,  and of course he hopes that somebody pays their taxes so that he can keep his job. 

When asked how she thought her tax dollars should be spent, Christine Plourde-Rand said, “I feel we need to put more money in education, resources for kids to stay out of the streets and in school, rehabilitation for people to return to work.” 

     Doug Turton wishes that his tax dollars were not spent on people in welfare programs. He feels that too many hard-working Americans such as himself and his wife, who have had careers their whole lives, pay their bills and pay their taxes, carry an unfair burden for citizens who don’t work and don’t try to find work. 

Sales taxes hit us every day. A shirt that says $12.99 on the tag may end up becoming $14.03 by the time it hits the register. How do people feel about sales taxes? Tidd says he is okay with sales taxes, but he wishes that he paid them just one time on vehicles that he purchases.

    Douglas says, “I don’t know how New Hampshire does it (no sales tax), their property tax must be really high.” And he is correct. New Hampshire ranks third in the nation for median property taxes paid behind New Jersey and Connecticut. The New Hampshire  median price for a property tax bill is $4,636. Maine ranks at number twenty with $1,936, according to a group called The Tax Foundation). Now that extra $1.04 sales tax on your shirt doesn’t seem quite as bad, does it?

Income taxes truly affects Americans on a personal level. And that level is, “the more you get, the more you give.” When I saw my pay check every week last summer, I knew how much I had worked and how much money I should have essentially accumulated that week. But when I looked at my pay check, I was a few dollars short, thanks to this beautiful concept called the income tax. I didn’t make a lot, because I didn’t work a lot. I was lucky to get $95 a week for three days a week. My mom used to look at my pay check and say, “It must be nice to only lose (about) three bucks a week,” and I would just laugh and forget about it. Until I really thought about how much she lost per week.