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The Tax Day rallies and the battle over changes in Iowa’s tax code made for an interesting juxtaposition last week.

The April 15 events were about massive bailout spending as much as taxes, and that’s certainly a more compelling focus than protesting a change in rules about the deductibility of federal income taxes. But even if we could set aside the bailouts, we still wouldn’t be near a consensus on how to handle the public’s money.

Far too often, protests boil down to: Protect the nation, guard the health of my loved ones, fix the bridges and plow the snow – but don’t increase my taxes.

Those who were incensed by the deductibility issue were talking about a tiny part of the picture. Projections by the Legislative Services Agencyshow the average Iowan paying $27 less in state income taxes in 2010, then $45 more in 2011, $155 more in 2012 and $154 more in 2013 under the proposed changes.

Big deal. The real issue is the total tax load, and that’s only headed up unless we make drastic changes in spending.

The squabble over deductibility is a sideshow. We like the analysis offered to IowaIndependent.com by Iowa State University economist David Swenson: “The main argument to end the tax, Swenson said, is to simplify the code and end ‘counter-cyclical consequences for Iowa'” that result when the federal tax rate changes. “Eliminate deductibility, make the tax code simpler, and the issue goes away,” he said.

The rallying cry against the change has been “no tax on a tax,” meaning that Iowans shouldn’t pay taxes on a sum that includes money headed for the federal government.

“It’s kind of a bogus argument,” Swenson said, “because we pay taxes on taxes all over the place. You have your payroll, (Medicare) and Social Security deductions taken right off the top, which is close to 9 percent. You pay taxes on that tax. That isn’t deducted from your adjusted gross income.”

We’re free to protest, but we’re obligated to be realistic.