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In general I agree with you, taxes and tax-like systems (church, healthcare, social systems, IHK and the others, broadcast) should be separated as much as possi

In general I agree with you, taxes and tax-like systems (church, healthcare, social systems, IHK and the others, broadcast) should be separated as much as possible, but ultimately the system will collapse if we do so. The social systems cannot fund themselves and the outlook is even worse. I think it is not even theoretically possible to cut the subsidies for the pension funds, and even if it was possible, it would choke the young generation because of the increased dues all while Germany already has the second lowest birth rate in the world. The birth rate would fall even lower, thus increasing the costs for the next generation even higher. The bullshit expenses like broadcast and so on can absolutely be reformed, but that's just a few billions here and there. The overwhelming majority of the spending (130 bn € per year, next biggest is the military with just 34 bn €) for the social system cannot decrease, thanks to the demographic it has to be increased every year until the birth rate is stabilized, which as described cannot happen if young people are busy paying for pensions. And btw. the tax revenue from federal roads was 6 bn € last year, while the the ministry of transport spend 8 bn € on it's federal roads. Of course there are also 33bn revenue from the gas tax, which was introduced with the argument that roads need to be paid for, but yeah as described, if we cut the tax, pension funds will die. Revenue from VAT and income taxes are just ~ 80 bn € each, appropriate spending would just collapse the system instantly. Here are the sources as an interactive chart, unfortunately only in German: https://www.bundeshaushalt-info.de/ https://www.bundeshaushalt-info.de/

cm3 10y ago
You're right, but I think that the population can be educated and convinced of the necessity of certain taxes without them feeling ripped off. Therefore, I have this hope that a more transparent and purpose-bound tax system can work and finally discourage tax payers from complaining about taxes as if infrastructure and services grow on trees. What I mean is that I've met many people who view tax evasion as a national sport of sorts, and the professionalism rises the higher their income, unfortunately, while those with lower income are less capable of leaving 30 to 50 percent of their income on the table. I'm not advocating a rich-people tax or anything like that. Just apply tax laws evenly, without making exceptions or implementing loop-holes for those who can hire a tax lawyer/accountant. I believe that once people know why certain taxes are paid and see what they're used for, they will be less likely to be frustrated about it. Now, there's the risk of people not caring about issues somewhere else and thus not wanting to support that, but that also can be solved with education. There's so much useless stuff put into people's minds via psycho-advanced ad campaigns that it's possible to use that for good as well. With all that being said, maybe the Germans are less likely to be educable in that regard, and thus you're perhaps right that a fair and logical tax system won't fly. If so, it might work in Japan's society.

cm3 10y ago

You're right, but I think that the population can be educated and convinced of the necessity of certain taxes without them feeling ripped off. Therefore, I have this hope that a more transparent and purpose-bound tax system can work and finally discourage tax payers from complaining about taxes as if infrastructure and services grow on trees. What I mean is that I've met many people who view tax evasion as a national sport of sorts, and the professionalism rises the higher their income, unfortunately, while those with lower income are less capable of leaving 30 to 50 percent of their income on the table. I'm not advocating a rich-people tax or anything like that. Just apply tax laws evenly, without making exceptions or implementing loop-holes for those who can hire a tax lawyer/accountant. I believe that once people know why certain taxes are paid and see what they're used for, they will be less likely to be frustrated about it. Now, there's the risk of people not caring about issues somewhere else and thus not wanting to support that, but that also can be solved with education. There's so much useless stuff put into people's minds via psycho-advanced ad campaigns that it's possible to use that for good as well. With all that being said, maybe the Germans are less likely to be educable in that regard, and thus you're perhaps right that a fair and logical tax system won't fly. If so, it might work in Japan's society.