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A government must tax its citizens for money, but what is the best method and amount. This thread is not necessarily about how much a country should be taxed, but rather in which way it should be taxed.
What is your opinion of these taxes and at what rate do you think they should be set.
Income Tax Business/Corporation Tax Inheritance Tax Property Tax Sales Tax Luxury Good Tax Capital Gains Tax Dividend Tax Gas Tax Emission/Carbon Tax Trade Tax (Tariff) Tobacco/Alchohol Tax Internet Tax Tollway/Road Tax
Also, should these taxes be progressive or flat. If progressive, then how much.
A government must tax its citizens for money, but what is the best method and amount. This thread is not necessarily about how much a country should be taxed, but rather in which way it should be taxed.
What is your opinion of these taxes and at what rate do you think they should be set.
Income Tax Business/Corporation Tax Inheritance Tax Property Tax Sales Tax Luxury Good Tax Capital Gains Tax Dividend Tax Gas Tax Emission/Carbon Tax Trade Tax (Tariff) Tobacco/Alchohol Tax Internet Tax Tollway/Road Tax
Also, should these taxes be progressive or flat. If progressive, then how much.
tell me if I left any out.
Tax economic rents. That is money that is made that has no bearing on production. The most famous example is the land value tax.
Almost all economic rents are due to some privilege or law from the sovereign. Thus paying that tax is just paying back the windfall the same state created.
Carbon credits would be a classic example. If the government creates this "air law", then it will mean its a finite resource that can be manipulated and consolidated so that it rises in value due to this legal artificial scarcity. People will make money doing nothing. It will because of law. Its no different than the ground monopolies we buy and sell which are nothing but the decree of the sovereign. That should be the tax base.
Almost all economic rents are due to some privilege or law from the sovereign. Thus paying that tax is just paying back the windfall the same state created.
Would LVT be considered a progressive property tax? The more your property has potential to earn you, the higher taxes you should pay?
Anyhow I like the idea. Land is going up in value because the world population is going up and economies are growing. Because of this, those who own the land must either do something with it or sell it to those who can. This idea sounds like a good way to curb suburban sprawl.
Would LVT be considered a progressive property tax? The more your property has potential to earn you, the higher taxes you should pay?
Indeed it would be progressive. Generally low value country side would have few taxes while urban centers would pay higher taxes. Most of the rent value ends up becoming an interest payment anyway. If two people discover a free wealth producing assets of say $1,000 in ground rent value people will finance its purchase right up to a $999 dollar finance charge. So in general it has no effect on the productive economy. In fact it allows one not to have any effect at all since labor and capital is untaxed.
Quote:
Anyhow I like the idea. Land is going up in value because the world population is going up and economies are growing. Because of this, those who own the land must either do something with it or sell it to those who can. This idea sounds like a good way to curb suburban sprawl.
It has numerous benefits. They say sales taxes even tax drug dealers? Sales taxes = black markets. Can't hide the ground. It also allows states to recoup the values they create in infrastructure. Can't afford a bridge that increases land values? Sort of stupid.
Private land is actually nothing other than a state granted monopoly if you think about it. When you buy it you are buying the right of "no trespass" enforced by the state. The value is a creation of the state. So people who pay this tax are not paying anything of their own. This is "ground rent" not the building of course.
Another example I like to use is a "rent" is the sex.com domain name case.
This is another space monopoly on an artifact of the English language. Its value does not come from industry. Its just has value.
while that might seem obvious, given that Kremen sold it in 2006 for around $14 Million,
It is hard to separate the site itself from the value of the locations but their is no doubt books.com have more value that buybookhereaswelltoo.com.
So not only is is wealth not from industry, it is the ruling authority that secures the possession. Then people are too cheap to even recognize this as the true tax base?
A government must tax its citizens for money, but what is the best method and amount. This thread is not necessarily about how much a country should be taxed, but rather in which way it should be taxed.
What is your opinion of these taxes and at what rate do you think they should be set.
Income Tax Business/Corporation Tax Inheritance Tax Property Tax Sales Tax Luxury Good Tax Capital Gains Tax Dividend Tax Gas Tax Emission/Carbon Tax Trade Tax (Tariff) Tobacco/Alchohol Tax Internet Tax Tollway/Road Tax
Also, should these taxes be progressive or flat. If progressive, then how much.
tell me if I left any out.
You left a lot out. I don't fault you; almost nobody can list them all.
How about:
Dog Tax
Amusement Tax
Privilege Tax (levied on certain occupations, some States)
Professional License Tax
Building Permit Tax
Transit Fare Tax
Transit Parking Tax
Street Parking Tax
Restaurant Meal Tax (in addition to sales tax)
Hotel Occupancy Tax
Car Rental Tax
Airline Ticket Tax
Airline Fuel surcharge Tax
Professional Seat License Tax
Taxi Fare surcharge
Speeding Ticket Credit card "Convenience" Tax
Strip club admission tax
Cigarette Tax
Vending Machine Tax
I know a lot of them are user fees designed to make the user pay. Others are just to raise revenue or for some tangentially related purpose. For example, car rental fees that pay for convention centers. Others are "sin taxes" that users dare not complain about.
I think some should be more progressive but are regressive. For example, a business license in many cities costs the same regardless of sales volume.
Last edited by pvande55; 01-04-2013 at 07:34 PM..
Reason: Add examples and line
Isn't the broadest 'tax' the creation of money (over and above the economic level) to fund the government? Inflation has taken more wealth from the public with little discussion.
$1000 1950 dollars are now worth about $100... even $1000 year 2000 dollars are now worth less than $800.
Even without calling it a tax the federal government funds itself by taking wealth that is not secured in real assets (this includes your future labor).
Isn't the broadest 'tax' the creation of money (over and above the economic level) to fund the government? Inflation has taken more wealth from the public with little discussion.
$1000 1950 dollars are now worth about $100... even $1000 year 2000 dollars are now worth less than $800.
Even without calling it a tax the federal government funds itself by taking wealth that is not secured in real assets (this includes your future labor).
Good one!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pvande55
You left a lot out. I don't fault you; almost nobody can list them all.
How about:
Dog Tax Amusement Tax Privilege Tax (levied on certain occupations, some States) Professional License Tax Building Permit Tax Transit Fare Tax Transit Parking Tax Street Parking Tax Restaurant Meal Tax (in addition to sales tax) Hotel Occupancy Tax Car Rental Tax Airline Ticket Tax Airline Fuel surcharge Tax Professional Seat License Tax Taxi Fare surcharge Speeding Ticket Credit card "Convenience" Tax Strip club admission tax Cigarette Tax Vending Machine Tax
I know a lot of them are user fees designed to make the user pay. Others are just to raise revenue or for some tangentially related purpose. For example, car rental fees that pay for convention centers. Others are "sin taxes" that users dare not complain about.
.
I would say most of these taxes would fall under sales tax, or a tax required to purchase a good or service. Not all goods or services have to be taxed at flat sales tax rate. The reason why I included gas tax, tobacco tax, and luxury goods tax, which are technically sales taxes, is because they are specific controvisial ones that effect the economy in a large way.
Generally speaking if you want to reduce some behavior or activity you should tax it more. Hence the reason why unhealthy food taxes are coming up quite a bit lately and why cigarette taxes have been doing nothing but going up. I think gas taxes and congestion based taxes are good ideas since they in their own ways reduce two activities we could do better without, but they never get anywhere. Taxing property and homes or income for that matter are generally bad ideas, we really don't want to reduce either. Taxing consumption is probably the most logical, but we have ourselves backed into a hole considering the US economy is 70% based on consumption.
Fact is there are no easy taxes and no easy solutions to where we are, but then again I question if things are nearly as bad as many believe or assert. To get the deficit back to a sustainable amount almost surely requires a higher percentage take of GDP, but who wants to vote for or even admit to that?
Import tax (a.k.a. tariff) and excise tax on alcohol and tobacco.
(Prior to the income tax, 1/2 of federal revenue came from import taxes, and the other 1/2 came from alcohol and tobacco excise taxes.)
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