This weekend, we’ll listen to a lot of speeches about how much we love this country and how thankful we are to live here. Peter and Joan Petrasek, of Seattle, chose to let their money talk for them.
The couple recently left the Department of the Treasury nearly $850,000 as a bequest.
The couple had no children and saw the bequest as a way to give back to the country that enabled them to live a happy and prosperous life, according to Peter Winn, the U.S. attorney who helped transfer the funds to the Treasury Department.
Peter was originally from Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) and Joan hailed from Ireland. The couple met in Canada and then settled in the United States where they lived happily for a number of years. They did well in the U.S. and were able, thanks to education and other opportunities granted to them, to accumulate significant assets. The pair had relatives abroad but wanted to leave their money to the U.S. because, according to Winn, “They wanted to make a statement about how much it meant to them to be able to call themselves American citizens.”
Joan predeceased Peter, who passed away in 2012. It took some time to administer his estate but earlier this month, Winn was able to deposit a check in the amount of $847,215.57 from the Petrasek Estate made out to the Department of the Treasury.
If that sounds unusual, it’s not as odd as you think. Last year, taxpayers contributed $5,103,452.84 to help pay down the federal debt. That’s up from 2013 but down from a high in 2012 of $7,749,618.27.
Gifts to help pay down the government debt are tax deductible. Gifts can be made as charitable bequests like the Petraseks – or as lifetime gifts.
If the Petraseks inspired you to give an extra dollar or so to help pay down the debt ($18,158,122,357,532.36 as of this morning), here’s how:
- You can write a check payable to the Bureau of the Public Debt and note in the Memo section that it’s to pay down the national debt. Mail your check to:
Attn Dept G
Bureau of the Public Debt
P. O. Box 2188
Parkersburg, WV 26106-2188 - You can mail your check along with your tax return. The check should be payable, as above, to the Bureau of the Public Debt, and be sure to put a note in the Memo Section of your check. Do not combine the amount you’re gifting with any tax due – those are separate checks for separate things. You can find this information buried on page 90 of the instructions for the federal form 1040.
- Finally, you can make a contribution online either by credit card, checking or savings account at Pay.gov. If the direct link to the secure site makes you nervous, you can also get there by navigating from TreasuryDirect.gov.
So why don’t more folks volunteer to pay more in taxes – as is often suggested by Warren Buffett? Because it’s not terribly satisfying. My mom would argue that “[e]very little bit helps” and while she’s usually right, this one is a stretch. If all taxpayers who filed federal income tax returns for 2014 contributed $10 extra to pay down the debt, that would equal $1,382,090,000. That works out to less than 1% of the total debt of $18,158,122,357,532.36. Actually, it’s less than 1% of 1%. Your sobering thought for the day.
That shouldn’t take anything away from the Petraseks, however. Their thank you gift to America is much appreciated.
