Study Reveals that Paying Taxes May Make People Happy

John Tierney, Taxes a Pleasure? Check the Brain Scan, NY Times, June 19, 2007, reports that

The University of Oregon announced a new piece of research last week with a startling headline: “Paying taxes, according to the brain, can bring satisfaction.”

Note, however, that “this study did not exactly involve a nationally representative sample of taxpayers. The sample consisted of 19 female students at the University of Oregon. And they were not exactly paying taxes * * *.”
   

“The most surprising result is that these basic pleasure centers in the brain don’t respond only to what’s good for yourself,” said Dr. Mayr, the psychologist. “They also seem to be tracking what’s good for other people, and this occurs even when the subjects don’t have a say in what happens.”