Maybe now wasn’t the best time to ask about taxes, with April 15 putting such a spotlight on how much government takes out of our wallets. A couple weeks ago, our online poll asked whether you would approve a tax hike to help pay for state services. The answer was no, pretty resoundingly. Then, last week, I wrote about how we couldn’t let the Renton schools suffer financially because of the recession. I favored a tax increase to help Renton schools. I watched the poll results change daily. The “no’s” took an early lead, but the “yes’s” caught up and went ahead. Then when I went to grab the results at our deadline Wednesday for Friday’s paper, it was a dead heat. A small sampling, but I think it really shows the ambivalence we all feel about how to pay for important services.

If you’re really concerned about what’s happening to your money and how to avoid getting snookered, be sure to read the column above by IRS special agent Kenneth J. Hines.