I slightly beat the rush by going to the post office yesterday to send my money to the IRS and the State of California. Although part of me was pained to write the checks, there was also a part of me that felt civic pride in paying my taxes. Of course I wish a smaller percentage went to our ridiculously bloated defense budget. But I want better public schools, better public transportation, roads without potholes and many other things that tax revenues can provide. In our vehemently anti-tax society, is this the most transgressive idea around?

I’m not alone. Rustbelt Intellectual feels the same (fantastic post on many levels) and there is a great tale on HP Phenom about David and Lucille Packard in 1963. It’s a contrast with Oracle’s Larry Ellison, who recently successfully appealed down his property tax assessment. Here’s what happened with the Packards 45 years ago:

Meanwhile, over at the Los Altos Museum, Lucile Packard’s scrapbook is on display, with a remarkable sequence of three letters from November and December 1963. The first, from HP’s attorney, said that the assessor had advised that they could probably qualify for a very large tax reduction with the Williamson Act agricultural exemption for their new 33 acre Los Altos Hills property. The second, from Dave Packard, said “we won’t file for that, since most of the taxes go to local schools, and we want to carry our fair share of the load”. The third, from the attorney, reported that when he talked to the county assessor, the response was “well, THAT makes my day!” thus beating Clint Eastwood to the words.