Massachusetts residents can help with organ donation on their tax forms

Boston.com reports that Massachusetts residents are paying "voluntary taxes" to help people with transplants. In the article, Voluntary Taxes, it says the state's residents can make contributions to funds that help threatened animal species, AIDS research, and to the Organ Transplant Fund (OTF). The OTF helps transplant recipients pay their medical bills. All residents have to do is check a box on their state tax return showing that they want to donate / contribute / pay a voluntary tax to the fund of their choice.

This "voluntary tax" misnomer just doesn't work for me. Usually, a tax is required by law and if you don't pay it there are civil or criminal penalties. Since people get to choose to pay or not pay this "voluntary tax," it's not a tax. It should be called a contribution, gift, donation, or something similar but not a tax even though the money is paid when filling out a tax return.