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Read My Lips: Why Americans Are Proud to Pay Taxes
A surprising and revealing look at what Americans really believe about taxes
Conventional wisdom holds that Americans hate taxes. But the conventional wisdom is wrong. Bringing together national survey data with in-depth interviews, Read My Lips presents a surprising picture of tax attitudes in the United States. Vanessa Williamson demonstrates that Americans view taxpaying as a civic responsibility and a moral obligation. But they worry that others are shirking their duties, in part because the experience of taxpaying misleads Americans about who pays taxes and how much. Perceived "loopholes" convince many income tax filers that a flat tax might actually raise taxes on the rich, and the relative invisibility of the sales and payroll taxes encourages many to underestimate the sizable tax contributions made by poor and working people.
Americans see being a taxpayer as a role worthy of pride and respect, a sign that one is a contributing member of the community and the nation. For this reason, the belief that many Americans are not paying their share is deeply corrosive to the social fabric. The widespread misperception that immigrants, the poor, and working-class families pay little or no taxes substantially reduces public support for progressive spending programs and undercuts the political standing of low-income people. At the same time, the belief that the wealthy pay less than their share diminishes confidence that the political process represents most people.
Upending the idea of Americans as knee-jerk opponents of taxes, Read My Lips examines American taxpaying as an act of political faith. Ironically, the depth of the American civic commitment to taxpaying makes the failures of the tax system, perceived and real, especially potent frustrations.
Conventional wisdom holds that Americans hate taxes. But the conventional wisdom is wrong. Bringing together national survey data with in-depth interviews, Read My Lips presents a surprising picture of tax attitudes in the United States. Vanessa Williamson demonstrates that Americans view taxpaying as a civic responsibility and a moral obligation. But they worry that others are shirking their duties, in part because the experience of taxpaying misleads Americans about who pays taxes and how much. Perceived "loopholes" convince many income tax filers that a flat tax might actually raise taxes on the rich, and the relative invisibility of the sales and payroll taxes encourages many to underestimate the sizable tax contributions made by poor and working people.
Americans see being a taxpayer as a role worthy of pride and respect, a sign that one is a contributing member of the community and the nation. For this reason, the belief that many Americans are not paying their share is deeply corrosive to the social fabric. The widespread misperception that immigrants, the poor, and working-class families pay little or no taxes substantially reduces public support for progressive spending programs and undercuts the political standing of low-income people. At the same time, the belief that the wealthy pay less than their share diminishes confidence that the political process represents most people.
Upending the idea of Americans as knee-jerk opponents of taxes, Read My Lips examines American taxpaying as an act of political faith. Ironically, the depth of the American civic commitment to taxpaying makes the failures of the tax system, perceived and real, especially potent frustrations.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published March 21, 2017
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160 people want to read
About the author
Vanessa Williamson
4 books4 followersVanessa Williamson is a senior fellow in governance studies at Brookings and a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. She studies the politics of redistribution, with a focus on attitudes about taxation. She is the author of Read My Lips: Why Americans Are Proud to Pay Taxes and the coauthor, with Theda Skocpol, of The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 24, 2017
This book shows that (based on surveys and interviews) all the joking about and opposition to taxes isn't really how most people feel about them (the pride of the subtitle) — at least to the extent they feel the taxes go to their communities and to people like them. It also explains why people focus so much on income taxes (and the fact that undocumented immigrants and poor people don't pay them and, therefore, aren't worthy citizens), even though poor people (including immigrants) pay a higher percentage of their incomes than the wealthy in sales taxes, property taxes (most indirectly through their rent), Social Security and Medicare taxes, and fees.
The only thing that makes this book fall short of five stars is too much repetition.
The only thing that makes this book fall short of five stars is too much repetition.
April 14, 2017
I read this book on a complete whim: a friend mentioned it on Twitter, I found the title relatable, and I immediately bought it without further research. I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I got out of reading it. It's a solid overview of political attitudes across much of the US, including different genders, races, and geographical regions. The timing was also nice because I read this as a companion while wrapping up my own tax returns for 2016.
The modest amount of research I've seen on this topic is often condescending, highlighting the idea that Americans don't know much about our own government. This book provides a different perspective. Williamson conducts her research in two parts, a survey sent to lots of people and interviews personally conducted with a smaller set of people. Her research methods, as well as the way she presents her subjects as whole people, feels sympathetic without being cloying. It doesn't apologize for people who rail against unauthorized immigrants or ask me to change my mind, but it does allow me to understand how those people formed their views in the context of their own lives.
I was surprised to become aware of my attitudes toward taxes while reading this book. I wish I'd taken some time near the beginning to jot down my thoughts because they're distorted now. This is what I should have tried to answer off the top of my head: 1) What taxes do I pay? 2) What government spending do I know about, and what do I think about it?
The modest amount of research I've seen on this topic is often condescending, highlighting the idea that Americans don't know much about our own government. This book provides a different perspective. Williamson conducts her research in two parts, a survey sent to lots of people and interviews personally conducted with a smaller set of people. Her research methods, as well as the way she presents her subjects as whole people, feels sympathetic without being cloying. It doesn't apologize for people who rail against unauthorized immigrants or ask me to change my mind, but it does allow me to understand how those people formed their views in the context of their own lives.
I was surprised to become aware of my attitudes toward taxes while reading this book. I wish I'd taken some time near the beginning to jot down my thoughts because they're distorted now. This is what I should have tried to answer off the top of my head: 1) What taxes do I pay? 2) What government spending do I know about, and what do I think about it?
February 18, 2026
So… it all comes back to the property tax revolt that created this culture around taxes
It is a largely manufactured issue, with non tax paying people making up a small fraction of the population. The Tea Pratt only ever had 200,000 in 2010 at its height
The issues in this book are
1. Americans overwhelmingly see paying their taxes as a moral issue and feel the need to pay them as an important civic duty
2. Americans usually do not want non-taxpayers to benefit from their taxes
3. Some anti-immigrant people classify immigrants as non-taxpayers despite paying sales, excise and payroll tax, since income tax is the only thing that matters to these people
4. Americans are less likely to oppose social programs if they are framed as going to tax payers instead of “moochers”
5. There is a perceived taxpayer gap. Around 88% of Americans say they are taxpayers and on average, Americans estimate that 66.5% of people pay taxes (poor people are not seen as taxpayers)
6. Most people do not understand the progressive tax system and conflate corporate welfare and aggressive tax breaks for multinational corporations with a regressive individual tax system
7. Most people believe that the government wastes their tax dollars through disliked programs, perks for politicians, pork, inefficiency and overpayments. Instead of seeing this and believing that people hate taxes, politicians should treat this as part of the normal political process and see it as an indicator that Americans despise plutocracy, or rule by the rich.
It is a largely manufactured issue, with non tax paying people making up a small fraction of the population. The Tea Pratt only ever had 200,000 in 2010 at its height
The issues in this book are
1. Americans overwhelmingly see paying their taxes as a moral issue and feel the need to pay them as an important civic duty
2. Americans usually do not want non-taxpayers to benefit from their taxes
3. Some anti-immigrant people classify immigrants as non-taxpayers despite paying sales, excise and payroll tax, since income tax is the only thing that matters to these people
4. Americans are less likely to oppose social programs if they are framed as going to tax payers instead of “moochers”
5. There is a perceived taxpayer gap. Around 88% of Americans say they are taxpayers and on average, Americans estimate that 66.5% of people pay taxes (poor people are not seen as taxpayers)
6. Most people do not understand the progressive tax system and conflate corporate welfare and aggressive tax breaks for multinational corporations with a regressive individual tax system
7. Most people believe that the government wastes their tax dollars through disliked programs, perks for politicians, pork, inefficiency and overpayments. Instead of seeing this and believing that people hate taxes, politicians should treat this as part of the normal political process and see it as an indicator that Americans despise plutocracy, or rule by the rich.
December 20, 2017
A good quick read offering compelling research demonstrating that most Americans view paying their taxes as patriotic or at least an important part of being a part of the United States. It teases apart some complex views on who some people consider to be Americans or worthy of government programs. And it ends with a perfect short civics lesson that explains who pays what taxes when and where.
March 7, 2022
👄 My Bestfriend, always there for me, always been there for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews