This document provides recommendations for changing the conversation around taxes in the United States. It suggests that discussions should reconnect taxes to their purposes of funding important public structures and services. It also recommends resetting the context to focus on taxes as investments in the future rather than costs today. Additionally, the document advises avoiding terms that reinforce negative perceptions of taxes as burdens and focusing instead on creating a balanced and fair tax system.

1. Communicating Effectively about Taxes
October 2013

2. Talking about Taxes
Our goal is to…..
help more Americans to
understand that taxes are the
way we all help to support
the public structures, systems
and services that are essential
to our democracy and our
quality of life.
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3. Default Thinking on
Taxes
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4. The topic of taxes is highly charged in American discourse, and has
been since our founding. But today, it seems almost impossible to talk
rationally and pragmatically about tax policy choices. Unraveling our
rhetoric about taxes and creating a more reasoned appreciation of their
role and purpose is an important aspect of changing attitudes toward
government in general.
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5. “Legitimacy and a steady source of revenue provide the
twin foundations of any enduring government.”
- Marjorie E. Kornhauser
Despite Americans’ long history of
protest over taxation, it is equally
clear that the public structures we
depend on today would not exist
without our tax system. And our
collective future is in jeopardy if
we don’t have adequate and
reliable revenues and public
support for them.
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6. Taxes have
become
disconnected
from their
purposes.
Unfortunately, research shows that people do not generally think
about all the things we rely on every day that taxes help to pay for.
Even when they do recall them they take them for granted,
assuming they will always be there and that any discussion about
taxes must be for something “extra” or wasteful.
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7. The disconnect between taxes and what they pay for manifests itself in
many ways. In this example, protestors are bemoaning taxes while
literally being surrounded by tax-supported public infrastructure.
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8. Unfortunately, most
Americans view taxes as
“taken money.” They are
“theft” by the government
that prevents individuals from
paying for their own personal
needs. This default perception
is constantly reinforced by
typical media coverage and
the anti-tax rhetoric that
bombards us every day.

9. “Consumer
Thinking”
Fuels a sense that taxes are
subtractive. When people view
government as a vending
machine of services “bought,” the
core questions are not civic ones
but rather “what’s in it for me?”
and “what is it going to cost?”
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10. Recommendations for
Changing the
Conversation
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11. First, reconnect taxes to their purposes by
focusing on the public structures they fund.

12. Reconnect Taxes to Purpose
The public structures that underpin our
communities – such as schools, roads, clinics,
police and fire protection, and health inspections –
all depend on a system of budgets and taxes that
supports them adequately now and into the
future. Taxes are an essential part of the equation;
how they are raised and the level of resources they
provide will affect our quality of life now and into
the future.
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13. Next, reset the context.
Debates about taxes are often
lodged in zero-sum arguments
about costs and benefits in the
current moment. Reset the
context by focusing on the role
taxes play in helping us meet
future goals and objectives and
reminding us that previous
generations paid taxes to
construct the many public
benefits we enjoy today.
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14. Example of resetting the context
“On Tax Day, millions of Americans will do what
generations before have done – contribute to our country's
future. Just as our parents and grandparents paid taxes to
build the schools, transportation systems, health clinics and
parks we benefit from today, our tax payments this year
continue this effective system of forward exchange.”*
* See a description of the “forward exchange” concept at:
http://frameworksinstitute.org/toolkits/bt/resources/pdf/planningforourfuture_budgetstaxes.pdf.
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15. And, avoid reinforcing bad frames.
Too much of our
language about taxes
infers that they are a
burden from which we
should be seeking
relief. Even the term
“taxpayer” reduces our
role to check-writer.
Avoid terms like:
• Tax Burden
• Tax Relief
• Hard-earned tax dollars
• Taxpayer
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16. Taxes are Loads to be shared
not Burdens to avoid
We all have to carry
our share of the
“load” when it
comes to paying for
the things we all
need.
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17. People struggle
with notions of tax “fairness”
Fairness is a basic American value,
but when it comes to taxes
“fairness is in the eye of the
beholder.” Moreover, people
often think that the simplest
proposals are the most fair, e.g.
flat income taxes or consumption
taxes. It is sometimes difficult for
people to see how a “progressive”
tax system – one that expects the
most from those who have the
most – is the best design.
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18. Fairness = Not Taxing Me
As Russell B. Long famously
said, “Don't tax you, don't tax
me, tax that fellow behind the
tree!“
Relying only on arguments
about fairness may generate a
willingness to tax others (e.g.
the wealthy, corporations) but
it may not help change overall
attitudes about taxation.
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19. Why should the wealthy and
corporations pay “their fair share?”
Efforts to focus on
those who should pay
more – such as the
wealthy and
corporations – still
need to make a
practical case for
“why.”
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20. An example of “why” some should pay
more
The public systems that our taxes support are the foundation of our
nation’s economy. Everyone – individuals and businesses alike –
needs to shoulder an appropriate share of these costs. Our nation was
built on the notion that those who have benefitted the most from our
country’s public investments should also pay the most for their
upkeep. For some time now this basic principle has been eroding
away. Over recent decades the share of taxes paid by high income
earners and large corporations has been reduced while middle class
families have paid more and our public systems have declined. This
great American tax shift is undermining the foundations our economy
and our society.
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21. We cannot just
tell a morality
tale; we also
need a story of a
tax system that
is upside down
and needs to be
repaired.

22. Tips for fairness conversations
•
Take a practical, management stance (what is the best
tax structure to run a modern society).
•
Make it about a tax “structure” or “system” that needs to
be changed not just “greedy people and corporations.”
•
Try using terms like “upside down,” or “out of balance,”
instead of “unfair.”
•
Find ways to turn attention to the investments in public
systems & structures that make wealth and economic
success possible.
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23. Summary of Recommendations
• Connect taxes to their purposes
• Elevate civic thinking not consumerism
• Reset the context and perspective
• Avoid triggering bad tax frames
• Make a practical case for fairness
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24. For more information about talking about taxes, we encourage you to
visit www.publicworks.org.