Income Tax Choices

Robert Deville’s suggestion (letter, Nov. 11) that the National Endowment for the Arts be funded by a “checkoff box” on the federal income tax form is such a good idea that I would like to expand on it. Why not have checkoff boxes for all the major categories in the national budget? We could have boxes for the Defense Department, the National Park Service, federal aid to education, Medicare, federal law enforcement agencies, and so on. That way, each taxpayer could be assured that his taxes went to government functions he approved of.

Furthermore, the checkoff would also serve as a national referendum on the budget. If money were spent only on those things the people are willing to be taxed for, the budget would be automatically balanced, and the unseemly budget battles between Congress and the White House would be eliminated.

DAVID DOAN, San Diego