Happiness is paying your taxes, study suggests

CBC News ^ | Friday, June 15, 2007 | 3:04 PM ET | CBC News

[Gondring]

Contrary to the common notion that paying taxes can be a painful experience, researchers at the University of Oregon say the practice actually may trigger feelings of satisfaction and happiness.

"Paying taxes can make citizens happy," Ulrich Mayr, a professor of psychology, said in a release accompanying the study in the Friday issue of Science.

"People are, to varying degrees, pure altruists. On top of that, they like that warm glow they get from charitable giving. Until now, we couldn't trace that in the brain."

The study by Mayr and his colleagues is titled Neural Responses to Taxation and Voluntary Giving Reveal Motives for Charitable Donations.

Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology, the researchers observed the brain activity of 19 women who were given a balance of $100 each. The researchers created the effect of taxation by making mandatory withdrawals from their account. The withdrawn money was actually sent to a food bank's account.

Participants also made additional choices about whether to give away more money or keep it for themselves.

2 brain areas activated during test

The study found that two reward-related areas of the brain — the caudate nucleus and the nucleus accumbens — lit up during the taxation test. These areas are typically activated when a person experiences feelings of satisfaction, as they do after having eaten a meal.

"The fact that mandatory transfers to a charity elicit activity in reward-related areas suggests that even mandatory taxation can produce satisfaction for taxpayers," the study said.

When the participants voluntarily gave the charity more money, the activation area was larger — a finding that, according to the researchers, sheds light on why people make donations.

"These transfers are associated with neural activation similar to that which comes from receiving money for oneself," the study said.

Mayr said the findings show people are willing to pay their taxes as long as they support good causes. The authors noted, however, that the results may have differed if people had been presented with a tax that seemed less fair or benevolent.

[Gondring]

Why no "Barf" tag? Because I think that despite the questionable study design, there are important learnings--and intriguing implications--from the results. I'd like to see a follow-up that examines differences of how various demographics react, and how the physiological responses correlate with psychological ones, for example.

[Lijahsbubbe]

Ulrich Mayr, a professor of psychology, said in a release accompanying the study in the Friday issue of Science.

.....who did the study through a grant (taxpayer money) from the government.

[EagleUSA]

Sounds like the credo of the Hitlery for President campaign...

[hosepipe]

Socialist propaganda...
Socialism is Slavery by Government..
Pavlov's Dogs logic.. Make them WANT to be taxed..

[stephenjohnbanker]

I am for impeaching Bush. He loves illegals, and urinates on Americans.

[Lijahsbubbe]

On top of that, they like that warm glow they get from charitable giving.

And I would argue that paying taxes is in no way comparable to charitable giving. I enjoy giving to those I want to give to when I want to give to them. Not when it's taken from me by others to give to where they see fit.

[Gondring]

Exactly. Part of the problem with the study design is the basic assumption that taxes are going to “something good.” In the study, it was an obvious charity that was presumably positive. I don’t think that assumption can be made for taxes in general, though I am sure the Hillary campaign would disagree.

[Gondring]

But that was the point of the study...even mandatory deductions gave “that glow”...

BUT, they were going to charity, not to a bloated Nanny State. :-)

[Lijahsbubbe]

Didn’t read all of the article. (she said ashamedly.....) :)

[nkycincinnatikid]

Arbeit macht Frieheit, nichts, Professor Mayr?

[AngelesCrestHighway]

Happiness is paying your taxes...and taking a header into a meadow muffin is my dream.....

[shadowcat]

I loath every second the IRS is alive!

[freekitty]

Pretty dumb

[mhx]

Having just paid my June 15 taxes, err, no, I’m not getting a warm fuzzy feeling.

[Gondring]

Having just paid my June 15 taxes, err, no, I’m not getting a warm fuzzy feeling.

SO....using this research that says mandatory giving to a good cause gives a warm feeling, we can conclude that paying taxes is not "giving to a good cause."

THAT's why I think this study is important and shouldn't be ignored!

[tflabo]

"Paying taxes can make citizens happy,"

Oh sure.... spending HOURS literally getting all the forms in order, paying my CPA handsomely, then getting a kindly audit this year because the Fed Govt. isn't happy stealing the gobs of $$ it does from me but wants more? Just makes me giddy like a 14 yr old girl. BARF ALERT!

[Mr. Mojo]

"Paying taxes can make citizens happy,"

Citizen-sheep, that is.

[Mobile Vulgus]

This appears on Newsbusters...

New Scientist: People Love to Pay Taxes? Absurd 'Study' Presented as Fact

If this isn't junk science, then nothing meets the requirement to be called such! A new, money wasting university "study" was written about by New Scientist Magazine (on their website newscientist.com) this month that was presented as a "surprising discovery" somehow "proving" that people secretly love to pay taxes. And people wonder why "science" can be so easily scoffed at these days... or why it's so hard to believe what you read.

On top of the bad reporting, this story is more proof of the constant waste of money that is perpetrated by our National Universities. Instead of teaching useful information and conducting meaningful studies, this University is trying to "prove" that people really secretly LOVE paying taxes.

Gee, why do they want that little absurd concept floating out there, do you think? And why is this news outlet propagating this foolishness?

New Scientist begins their tale in wide-eyed amazement:

Paying taxes feels good, say researchers.

The surprising discovery, based on brain scans, can also predict which people are most likely to donate cash to charity.

"Surprising discovery", indeed. So, what was the method?

Bill Harbaugh at the University of Oregon in Eugene, US, and colleagues gave 19 female university students $100, and told them some of this money would have to go towards taxes.

Each volunteer then read a series of 60 separate taxation scenarios involving $0 to $45 in taxes, knowing that one of the scenarios would be selected at random and the related amount be subtracted from their $100.

And the finding?

As the participants viewed the tax scenarios, their brains were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Surprisingly, whenever the students read the taxation scenarios, scientists saw a spike in activity within two of the brain's reward centres – the nucleus accumbens and caudate nucleus.

And the wild leaps in logic that are extrapolated from this so-called discovery?

Harbaugh says that people probably like paying taxes more than they admit. He believes the results of his new study help explain the widespread compliance with tax laws. "We like to complain about it, but based on what we do, we are not as opposed to it as we like to say," Harbaugh says.

Economist Robert Frank of Cornell University comments that tax-paying might stimulate positive feelings in the brain because the process helps equalise the burden of helping others.

What unbelievable balderdash! This "study" is so obviously flawed and absurd that it boggles the mind.

The truth is this flawed study treated taxes and charitable giving as one and the same function, a fatal flaw at the heart of their attempts to "prove" anything.

The study goes on to compare the brain scans of people giving charitable donations to those who are "paying taxes" (not that their study actually has anyone really paying taxes in it). The entire concept, however, makes a fundamental mistake in definition. Taxes are NOT charity. They are forcible redistribution of income -- even if for legitimate reason in some cases. Charity and taxes are in no way comparable. Further, it shows that these concepts have not been taught to these students before this idiotic study was conducted and no control group of people chosen for their proper understanding of the definitions of taxes and charity was assembled for this program.

Let's review the method to see further mistakes in logic. They GAVE $100 to 19 female STUDENTS. Those two words in caps further disqualifies the study as presenting any legitimate finding.

Problem #1- GAVE

These girls were not spending their own hard earned money. It was money that was simply handed to them with no efforts on their part past signing up for the study. These girls had no emotional attachment to the money, no sense of having earned it, no real assumptions that it was "theirs" at all. It was merely Monopoly money used for this study in their minds. It should be no surprise, then, that these subjects had no adverse reaction to the "spending" of their $100 on taxes.

Problem #2 STUDENTS

Chances are, the bulk of these same girls don't work for a living, either. So, their experience with earning money that they are utterly dependent upon for themselves and their family is also an emotional concern they are not accustomed to. They are probably taken care of by grants, loans and parents' funds, so they have little understanding of the "worth" of the $100 they were handed.

Another thing that makes this study completely meaningless is the lack of context. Few sensible people are against taxes just on principle. Even die hard tax protesters understand that taxes are a necessary evil at some level. But, context is important to the question of taxes. How is it being spent? Is the government program effective? Is it free of graft? These questions change the desire of people to pay taxes and must be answered to fully study people's true reactions to taxes.

Further, there is a difference between the personal satisfaction of giving to a charity and feeling of "pleasure" from having helped someone else and the different emotional "pleasure" of having done your duty as a citizen when paying taxes. Duty is a personal satisfaction based on a sense of accomplishment for yourself first. Charitable giving is a "pleasure" of having helped someone else. Yet, both feelings can be erased or materially harmed when the money thus given is misused. This study neither takes any time to quantify the two feelings of "pleasure" nor factors in the ultimate use of that money.

All these deficits of logic and method makes this study a farce.

But, here we are being told of the "surprising discovery" of this study which is presented as if it is all ascertained fact. This "secret pleasure" is presented as some amazing, unexpected human reaction to taxation.

And, again, why would such a study be made? Is this another effort to soften the blow of taxation? If so, this is quite against the grain of the American experience which has been built on decades of a dislike of taxation and a mistrust of government.

In the end, all we have here is propaganda for the left from New Scientist and the University of Oregon.

[RJL]

Happiness is paying your taxes, study suggests

Except, they're not going to discontinue withholding taxes from your paycheck so you can benefit from the "Happiness" of paying your taxes every month.

Ahhhh... The exception proves the lie.

[philetus]

Mayr said the findings show people are willing to pay their taxes as long as they support good causes.”

Na, it’s because of the subliminal messages on TV and the gov. mind rays beaming into our heads, telling us
“A paying taxpayer is a happy taxpayer”
“We’re the GOV. and we’re here to help you”
“All your base belongs to US”.

[Tzimisce]

Yeah, pay your overinflated taxes. :D Millions of illegals and corrupt politicians are depending on you. :D

[WSGilcrest]

...as they do after having eaten a meal

Therefore, paying taxes makes you full.

[Sarajevo]

Paying taxes can make citizens happy.

Now, If I don't get that "Happy Feeling", do I get a refund????

[Gondring]

See 'The Spirit of '43'

[Sapper26]

the researchers observed the brain activity of 19 women who were given a balance of $100 each. The researchers created the effect of taxation by making mandatory withdrawals from their account. The withdrawn money was actually sent to a food bank’s account.

I’ll gladly give away someone else’s money all day long - that’s why I’m thinking about running for Congress.

[Big Mack]

“Paying taxes can make citizens happy,” Should read, “Paying taxes can make comrads happy.”.

[Son House]

Happiness is paying your taxes, study suggests

Your time and work is paying your taxes, reality suggests,
and for those who find happiness in that, there’ll be plenty more as you vote for the modern Democrat.

[goldstategop]

Sure... we're also happy to be held up at gunpoint and turn over our wallets to the robber. Idiots!

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[paudio]

There are just too many variables that may affect the results. For instance, it depends on the marginal utility of the money for each individual. If the subjects considered $100 to be almost nothing, a fraction of it would be even meaningless. Giving away that portion, especially if s/he knew that the mandatory withdrawal was for charity, would make her/him happy as it can be considered doing good deed. Plus, they knew that the $100 were given to them, not earned.

If they want to see the effect of taxation, they need to set up the experiment like those in experimental economics with game theory. Let them 'earn' the money first, and then take a portion of the money as a mandatory tax. See if it still make them happy.

[listenhillary]

Find later - debunking tax study

[Kid Shelleen]

as the old joke goes; “I could be just as happy for half the money”

[Kid Shelleen]

as the old joke goes; “I could be just as happy for half the money”

[billhilly]

“On top of that, they like that warm glow they get from charitable giving.”

Pure nonsense. What do charitable giving and taxes have in common?

[AirForceBrat23]

News Alert: Study shows women like to spend money!

[Cincinnatus.45-70]

Hey, I’m willing to test the guy’s idea!

Here’s how: eliminate income tax witholding. Then let everyone get a warm glow every month by writing a check to Big Government. Wanta guess how soon citizens will be screaming for lower taxes and voting the bums out?

I am not sure if the author is on the staff or is really an inmate of a psychiatric facility. But I do think monthly payments would give citizens the full benefit and joy of paying their taxes!

[Crolis]

People are, to varying degrees, pure altruists.

Hmm...I wasn't aware that pure had so many variations. I always thought that something was either pure or impure. Anything less than pure is not pure.

And for the record, I am never happy when I pay my taxes....disgusted, resentful, and dissatisfied are the emotions that come to me when I'm writing a check on April 15th or I become aware of the difference between my gross pay and my net pay.

[Matchett-PI]

"Ulrich Mayr, a professor of psychology, said in a release accompanying the study in the Friday issue of Science." ".....who did the study through a grant (taxpayer money) from the government." ~ Lijahsbubbe

I would have sub-titled the article this way:

"Scientist increases odds for tenure as he dutifully finds evidence useful to politicians ensuring funding for future 'relevant studies'."