Only in Massachusetts

I love tax season. Not only do I enjoy the nice refund check that beefs up our savings account a little bit each year, but I enjoy the challenge of temporarily using my brain for something other than serving meals, giving baths, or changing diapers. Each year I especially enjoy the entertainment factor that causes me to burst out into tearful laughter when I run through our state tax documents. This year however, I was disappointed. My favorite thing about doing Massachusetts state taxes has always been the part where they ask me if I would like to voluntarily pay tax, in ADDITION to the standard 5.3% income tax rate. Now what fool out there really thinks to himself: 'Hmmmm, I just don't feel that I'm paying enough tax to the state this year. Why, yes! I would like to pay more! Thank God Massachusetts has allowed me this free-giving option on my tax forms!'

But as I said before... this year, I was disappointed. This year I did not have the option of paying additional state income tax. I'm sure the rest of the folks in this state are sobbing as well. And I'm sure that removing that item from the state's tax forms has greatly hurt it's overall revenue. Maybe lawmakers were trying to be generous this year. Maybe they felt regret for imposing such guilt-inducing, heart-wrenching politics on us, by implying that our state tax rates were so low that surely, we would feel obliged to pay more! Or maybe they looked at the income-tax-free state just north of them, and after all these years they finally GOT THE HINT! Do ya think???