Students, as you know, do not learn how to do taxes. Although we learn about percentages, we don’t really go over tax percentages for different things like sales tax and property tax. As those students grow up, their ineptitude to calculate their taxes can be very stressful for an adult, and especially a single mom or dad. To relieve the stress, schools should take the initiative to teach their students how to do taxes. The only problem is, the common core standards that public schools mandatorily follow don’t incorporate taxes. 

What we can do is push to make taxes be incorporated into common core standards in all 50 states and our capital. I see that the best way to do it is to put taxes of all kinds into one unit for math classes. We also have to specify what different taxes they are and what percentage they are in their respective residences. For example, New York has a sales tax of 8.875%, while a state like Iowa has a sales tax of 6%. California’s property tax rate is a low 0.77%, while Michigan’s property tax is 1.64%.

I personally am a child, and don’t have to pay any taxes myself, but that doesn’t mean I am not concerned with tax days as W2s are starting to be handed out. I can see the frustration in my mother’s face when she tries to calculate her taxes. It can be a stressful time for some people, as they can have minimal experience with taxes. With your help, we can start the push for taxes in our common core standards. Thank you.