"How Could I Live Without Filing Taxes?" asks Carla Howell in song Is April 15th a day of fear and loathing for you? Does your 1040 crank up your tension level? Is filling out and filing tax forms causing you deep psychic pain? Maybe you have a bad attitude. Carla Howell, sponsor of the 2002 Massachusetts ballot Initiative to End the Income tax, offers a suspiciously upbeat way to think about taxes with her song: How Could I Live Without Filing Taxes? - for you to listen and use free of charge. Processing an alphabet soup of state, federal, and local forms costs taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars every year. But without a constant flow of tax revenues -- that increase every year -- politicians are unable to fund the ever-bigger budgets they're creating. Without our help, all their favorite Big Government Programs would go belly up.

Singer-songwriter Carla Howell sponsored the 2002 ballot initiative to End the Income Tax in Massachusetts. It won 45.3% of the vote - nearly setting off a major tax revolt. She proposed making government so small -- we don't need an income tax.

"It doesn't matter whether you find Big Government Programs helpful, wasteful, or damaging. If you don't file your taxes, you might end up in jail. So when you're filing, you might as well put on a happy face!" said Ms. Howell.

Carla Howell is offering free distribution of How Could I Live Without Filing Taxes? for non-commercial use and for radio broadcast. Anyone may send or swap a digital audio copy of the March 2001 release version of her song posted on this web page, play it on-air, or post it to another web site free of charge per the Copyright terms below.

Carla Howell says, "small government is beautiful".

Listen Now!
(Please turn on your speakers!)

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Not sure if you're ready to take that step? Learn more about small government.

Permission is hereby granted to play, broadcast, post, or distribute the digital version of the song How Could I Live Without Filing Taxes? recorded by Carla Howell March 2001 and posted on this web page free of charge for the following purposes:

• personal use
• radio broadcast
• Internet transmission (email, download, posting to a bulletin board or web site)
• playback in a store or other commercial enterprise open to the public
• distribution of media containing copies of song where no fee is charged

provided that the title, author, and this copyright notice are noted where feasible. In particular:

• For broadcast use, announce "by Carla Howell" or "by Carla Howell of the Center For Small Government" immediately before or after broadcast of this song.
• For packaging and other printed materials that accompany this song, label them: How Could I Live Without Filing Taxes? by Carla Howell of the Center For Small Government (www.CenterForSmallGovernment.com). Include this copyright notice in its entirety where space permits.
• For file transmission, include the song title How Could I Live Without Filing Taxes? and the author Carla Howell in the filename and in any embedded song file information that may exist. Where feasible, please include a link to www.CenterForSmallGovernment.com.
• For web sites, include this copyright notice in its entirety with a link to the Center For Small Government (www.CenterForSmallGovernment.com).

All other rights reserved. Permission for other uses may be granted with prior written notice from Carla Howell. Please send requests for permission to info@carlahowell.org with the subject "Request Permission for other use of Tax Song".

How Could I Live Without Filing Taxes?
Copyright © 2001 by Carla Howell
All rights reserved.

I love doing my taxes
when each spring time comes, don't you?
Instead of garden walks and ball games,
I get to work my weekends too.

How could I live without filing taxes?
What would I do with my free time?
Where would I go on a beautiful Sunday?
Good thing there's someone to make up my mind.

Subtract line 6 from line 5, and if that's more than zero.
Then enter the amount from Schedule A line 21.
Multiply line 7 by .03 and if that is smaller than .8 of line 4.
Then deduct that from your deduction. Isn't this fun?

How could I live without filing taxes?
What would I do with my free time?
Where would I go on a beautiful Sunday?
Good thing I won't have to make up my mind.

My favorite part of filling out my tax forms
is when I get to write a check for whatever is due.
'Cuz the government can get such incredible bargains with my money
like a billion-dollar bridge or a forty-dollar metal screw.

How could I live without filing taxes?
What would I do with my free time?
How could I spend all of my money?
Good thing there's someone who can spend it just fine - for me.
Lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky me!