By Jim Bruner

As I read “Help your fellow man without taxes,” and “Help schools without taxes” in the Nov. 6 issue of the News-Times, I asked myself, “Why do we need to help anyone without taxes?”

You know the answer: Avoiding taxes has become a hobby of about 65 percent of Washington “citizens” who bother to vote, judging from last month’s defeat of several tax initiatives, passage of another initiative that will guarantee gridlock in the legislature for another two years, re-election of the same state representatives who have done nothing of consequence for a lot longer than that, and election of clueless new county officials.

Financial writer Daniel Gross, in a recent Newsweek article, said, “Paying taxes is the price of citizenship” and compared the current rage in Congress about federal income tax rates to a rebellion of country club members who don’t want to pay an assessment for landscaping.

Gross’s words rang a bell with me. My wife and I are members of the Oak Harbor Yacht Club. All members pay the same dues, contribute our talents and sweat to support the club’s activities according to our interest and abilities, and enjoy the benefits equally. Every member, upon joining, is given a copy of the bylaws, which states, “Membership dues will be determined by the board and voted on by the membership at the annual meeting.” Further, “Requirements for an assessment shall be determined by the board and approved by a majority vote of the members.”

In the years we have been members, the club has never asked for an assessment. I doubt that most of the members have read the bylaws, but we all know what the dues are. In essence, we pay an annual tax to maintain our memberships and pay no other taxes. A simple majority rules. Snowbirds who don’t feel they get their money’s worth either quit or never join. Visitors from other clubs constantly rave about our successful operation, hospitality and low cost.

My wife and I moved to Whidbey Island 15 years ago because we wanted to live in a park-like setting by the water. We don’t have to read the state constitution to know that nobody pays the same taxes as anybody else. Our neighbors threaten to move elsewhere because of property taxes and annually reject levies for public schools, libraries, or one thing or another. Our local editor and citizens suggest how we can “help” various tax-supported entities “without taxes” and how county and state officials can reduce spending by cutting their own salaries, cutting someone else’s job entirely, and deferring maintenance and upgrades. All this happens because a majority of people who call themselves citizens don’t want to pay the only tax that equates to paying dues to support the club called Island County, or in a larger sense, the state of Washington.

Anyone who carps about wasteful state and county spending is either ignorant or lying. Many unbiased sources rate Washington as one of the least-taxed states overall, even though it is the most unbalanced in how it taxes. State spending has not exceeded 10 percent of per capita income in the 15 years we have lived here and has never exceeded the national average. If we all paid dues (an income tax) of 10 percent, with no deductions for snowbirds or other special interests, everyone would know how much everyone else is paying, and we would have no other taxes or assessments without majority approval. It would be the best club in the country.

Jim Bruner

lives in Oak Harbor.