On Paying Taxes

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Marks Motivation Mail <motivation@chattertonworld.com>
Date: Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 3:15 PM
Subject: On Paying Taxes
To:

On Paying Taxes—It's Tax Celebration Time!

by Zig Ziglar

For many people (in the United States), this is their least favorite time of the year, despite the fact that we are now looking back on the winter months. Grass is growing, trees are blossoming, flowers are blooming, and birds are singing.

However, there is one little "fly in the ointment" in the minds of many people that gives them financial indigestion—income tax time (April 15 in the USA). The question is, Should we be irritated because we have to pay taxes, or should we be delighted that we have the privilege of living in a country where we can enjoy so many benefits made possible to us by our taxes (which, by the way, are among the lowest in the world)?

Here's the positive side of paying taxes. I turn on the evening news and see that our troops are risking their lives yet winning because our taxes have enabled us to develop the highest technology in the world and equip them with the latest weaponry, giving them colossal advantages so our loss of life is dramatically lower than that of the enemy.

I drive down smooth streets and roads, knowing that the taxes I am paying enable me to enjoy this ease of moving about.

At midnight I go to the store to pick up needed items and am met by police officers patrolling the streets, keeping us safe. That's my taxes at work.

I live in a nice home, on which I get a substantial tax assessment every year. I wish it were smaller, but I pay it without resentment because I understand that it is taxes that keep our city government, parks and recreation centers, emergency services and a host of other services available to me.

I could continue this list indefinitely, but because I happen to believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, it tells me that I should support the government in every way; that I should "render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's." In short, give to the government the money that is necessary to provide the services that no individual can provide.

It would be a stretch to say that I look forward to paying taxes, but I can say that I get excited about the benefits that come from paying my taxes. Give it some thought. I believe that you will look at taxes from a different perspective and count the benefits instead of griping about the cost.

Consider this: Our freedom is not a price we pay. It's a benefit we enjoy because we do pay our taxes. We do live in a great country.