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April   15th

PAY YOUR    TAXES

“Nothing    will    ever    befall  me  that    I   will    receive with    gloom   or  a   bad disposition.    I   will    pay my

taxes   gladly. Now,    all the things  which   cause   complaint   or  dread   are like    the taxes   of  life—

things  from    which,  my  dear    Lucilius,   you should  never   hope    for exemption   or  seek    escape.”

—SENECA,    MORAL   LETTERS,    96.2

s your income taxes come due, you might be like many people—complaining at what you have to
fork over to the government. Forty percent of everything I make goes to these people? And for
what?!
First off, taxes go to a lot of programs and services you almost certainly take for granted. Second, you
think you’re so special? People have been complaining about their taxes for thousands of years, and now
they’re dead. Get over it. Third, this is a good problem to have. Far better than, say, making so little there
is nothing left to pay the government or living in an anarchy and having to pay for every basic service in a
struggle against nature.
But more important, income taxes are not the only taxes you pay in life. They are just the financial
form. Everything we do has a toll attached to it. Waiting around is a tax on traveling. Rumors and gossip
are the taxes that come from acquiring a public persona. Disagreements and occasional frustration are
taxes placed on even the happiest of relationships. Theft is a tax on abundance and having things that other
people want. Stress and problems are tariffs that come attached to success. And on and on and on.
There are many forms of taxes in life. You can argue with them, you can go to great—but ultimately
futile—lengths to evade them, or you can simply pay them and enjoy the fruits of what you get to keep.