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> there’s a huge amount of lobbying of and money flowing to politicians willing to thwart reform efforts I suspect all these companies would get behind a low,
by brandonmenc 11y ago
> there’s a huge amount of lobbying of and money flowing to politicians willing to thwart reform efforts
I suspect all these companies would get behind a low, flat tax.
That's hard to lobby for.
Strategically, it makes more sense to lobby for a special tax break or loophole and let everyone else fend for themselves. All of this lobbying could disappear if every country adopted flat, nearly equal rates.
- enraged_camel 11y agoFor the record, flat tax is hugely regressive. It hurts the poor more than the rich. The reason is the marginal utility of money. With a flat tax of 20%, someone making 80k would pay 16k, and someone making 30k would pay 6k. Sounds good on the surface, except losing 6k hurts the second person far more than losing 16k hurts the second person. There are ways of simplifying the tax code while keeping it progressive. The bracket system we have for income taxation is good. They just need to close loopholes, eliminate a lot of deductions and tax capital gains at the same rate as regular income.
- harryh 11y agoThis is a discussion of corporate taxes not individual income taxes. Much of your comment is not germane.
- enraged_camel 11y agoIt also applies to corporations. Flat tax hurts smaller/less profitable corporations more than more than bigger/more profitable ones.
- harryh 11y agoSo if a smaller/less profitable corporation is wholly owned by a multi millionaire it's still a good thing if that corporation pays a lower tax rate?
- ars 11y agoThat's an extremely strange assumption. Smaller = less profitable? What? Why would you think that?
- enraged_camel 11y agoLess profitable as in total profit amount, not percentage of revenue.
- brandonmenc 11y agoI should point out that when I say it makes more sense strategically, that I mean a dollar spent lobbying for a tax break will pay off sooner than a dollar spent lobbying for a flat tax. I don't mean strategically as in trying to get a leg up on the competition.