Tips on How to Pay Your Fair Share

Do you think the state and federal government are woefully underfunded? Are you plagued with guilt for not paying your fair share in taxes?

Well, get out your checkbook. There are ways you can help right now with funding and maybe you'll ease your conscience in the process.

For starters, you can contribute to the General Revenue Trust Fund. The money in the fund goes to the general revenue account in Missouri.

Make contributions to:

ATTN: Department of Revenue

P.O. Box 3022

Jefferson City, MO 65105-3022

P.O. Box 3022

You can also pay when filling out your tax returns and you can have all or part of your state refund applied to the fund. Details are on line 45 of the Missouri 1040 form with several other trust funds.

Last year, $7,043 was donated to the fund, compared to $4,380 in 2009.

You can also help pay down the national debt. Make checks payable to:

Bureau of the Public Debt

Department G

P.O. Box 2188

Parkersburg, WV 26106-2188

Or you can enclose the check with your income tax return when you file.

But the Internal Revenue Service warns you not to add your gift to any taxes you may owe.

More details are on the IRS Form 1040 on page 88 and in IRS Publication 17 on page 15.

Maybe the government should take it one step further. It is fairly easy to set up a PayPal account and place a Donate button on a website. Maybe then we could crowd fund our way into solvency.

By Brian R. Hook, brhook@brhook.com, (314) 482-7944

Hook is editor of Missouri Journal, which covers the economy across the Show-Me State. For more Missouri news, sign up for a newsletter and follow Missouri Journal on Twitter and Facebook.