April 15, 2004: April 15
Business reporters and politicians use “tax” and “income tax” interchangeably. Thus today is “tax day.” Politicians who cut the income tax are “tax cutters.”
This is partly a matter of convenience — you save two syllables by just saying “tax” when you mean “income tax.” It’s also a reflection of the economic status of most politicians and of big name reporters and their editors. They make enough money to be a part of the top 3/10 of American taxpayers for whom income taxes are a bigger share than payroll taxes, which take a much bigger bite out of the earnings of seven out of 10 of us.
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