11 ms·

That sounds like imputed rent which is not a total fiction; it is a well understood concept and most economists seem to agree that it probably should be taxed b

That sounds like imputed rent which is not a total fiction; it is a well understood concept and most economists seem to agree that it probably should be taxed but the political cost of a change from the status quo makes it unlikely to happen in countries that aren't already doing so. The OECD recommends that member nations tax imputed rent because it improves fairness between renters and owners. A randomly Googled link that explains it more: http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/03/taxing-homeowners-as-if-they-were-landlords/ http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/03/taxing-homeowne...

TwoBit 11y ago
imputed rent makes no sense to me. So every time I drive my car, I'm denying a taxi driver some income and so I should be taxed on the profit I am making as my own taxi driver? Every time I masturbate I should be taxed on my profit made as a prostitute.
jessaustin 11y ago
It's sad that TwoBit's perfectly reasonable objection to this got downvoted to death rather than countered with some plausible argument. Why is real estate unlike every other useful property?
- morgante 11y ago
  > It's sad that TwoBit's perfectly reasonable objection to this got downvoted to death rather than countered with some plausible argument. Probably because he needlessly brought a controversial issue into the discussion (prostitution). The taxi issue is, in fact, interesting. Especially when you extend it to Uber. If your capital comes in the form a vehicle, you apparently aren't required to pay imputed rent but if it's a house you do. That being said, the labor issue muddles this. You could argue that when you get a taxi you're paying exclusively for the driver's time, not the vehicle.
  - jessaustin 11y ago
    Maintaining a residence also requires labor. In the robocar future (that is, before the handyrobot future that surely will follow) perhaps it will be thought to require more labor than driving? It's disappointing to imagine HN voters being so censorious as to downvote perfectly topical mentions of prostitution.

TwoBit 11y ago

imputed rent makes no sense to me. So every time I drive my car, I'm denying a taxi driver some income and so I should be taxed on the profit I am making as my own taxi driver? Every time I masturbate I should be taxed on my profit made as a prostitute.

jessaustin 11y ago

It's sad that TwoBit's perfectly reasonable objection to this got downvoted to death rather than countered with some plausible argument. Why is real estate unlike every other useful property?

morgante 11y ago
> It's sad that TwoBit's perfectly reasonable objection to this got downvoted to death rather than countered with some plausible argument. Probably because he needlessly brought a controversial issue into the discussion (prostitution). The taxi issue is, in fact, interesting. Especially when you extend it to Uber. If your capital comes in the form a vehicle, you apparently aren't required to pay imputed rent but if it's a house you do. That being said, the labor issue muddles this. You could argue that when you get a taxi you're paying exclusively for the driver's time, not the vehicle.
- jessaustin 11y ago
  Maintaining a residence also requires labor. In the robocar future (that is, before the handyrobot future that surely will follow) perhaps it will be thought to require more labor than driving? It's disappointing to imagine HN voters being so censorious as to downvote perfectly topical mentions of prostitution.