Yes, I love paying taxes

Real Americans take pleasure in paying their taxes, says Rich Benjamin in USA Today. So why do "churlish" Tea Partiers insist on being so "unpatriotic"?

Tax day wasn't all bad.
(Image credit: Corbis)

Tea Party protesters are gathering at anti-tax rallies nationwide today, but not everybody is angry about tax day. In a USA Today op-ed, writer Rich Benjamin argues that paying taxes your "fair share" of taxes is patriotic and pro-business. "I secretly love the ritual" of visiting the accountant, he says, and "deep in my bones, that place that speaks my mind, I am proud and glad to pay my income taxes." Here's an excerpt of Benjamin's love letter to taxation:

"In contrast to Tea Party 'patriots,' I fervently support income taxes.

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Paying income taxes confirms my pride as a modern-day American citizen. As loudly as I might declare my love for this country, I need to put my money where my mouth flaps. For those like me — not fighting in Afghanistan, not toiling in our foreign service, not extinguishing fires or fighting crime as a public servant — paying taxes makes real my commitment to a functioning America."

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