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There is a sense in which a tax credit is "identical" to handing over cash directly. But in a very similar sense, that tax credit is identical to a tax cut, an

by Lazare 10y ago

There is a sense in which a tax credit is "identical" to handing over cash directly. But in a very similar sense, that tax credit is identical to a tax cut, and a tax cut is identical to the absence of a tax raise. Would it be accurate to say that your income tax not being sharply increased next year is "identical" to being handed a large pile of cash? Is every dollar that you are not taxed actually a gift from the government? Or to flip it around: If we decide collectively that the correct tax rate for some activity is 20%, then that's the correct rate. Just because you might feel a better rate would be 30% (or 10%) doesn't mean that we're actually gifting the entity 10% of the revenue (or stealing 10% of their revenue). Similarly, there's no objectively correct answer to how large pieces of industrial plant should be depreciated beyond the accounting rules that Congress, the IRS, FASB, etc., have enacted. Those rules not matching what you or I would have chosen doesn't mean they're either a gift nor theft.

toyg 10y ago
> a tax cut is identical to the absence of a tax raise Wat? Assume I earn $100 and tax is 30%: I pay $30. Tax gets cut to 20%: I pay $20. Tax doesn't rise: I pay $30. 30 != 20. A tax cut is a tax cut, "absence of raise" is a different thing. > Those rules not matching what you or I would have chosen doesn't mean they're either a gift nor theft. It doesn't mean they're not a gift either. Those rules are the result of a complex set of factors including campaign contributions, lobbying, revolving-door promises and occasional outright bribes. They are not Holy Scripture and everyone is entitled to criticise them, which includes defining this or that break with words like "gifts", "giveaways", "pork" and so on.
Retric 10y ago
That's arguable only if tax rates are universal. People pretend a lower long term capital gains rate is a tax cut, but it's effectivly just handing money to a few at the cost of everyone else who needs to fund the government. In the end spending cuts matter, tax cuts are just smoke a mirrors to mask spending as a good thing.

by Lazare 10y ago

toyg 10y ago

> a tax cut is identical to the absence of a tax raise Wat? Assume I earn $100 and tax is 30%: I pay $30. Tax gets cut to 20%: I pay $20. Tax doesn't rise: I pay $30. 30 != 20. A tax cut is a tax cut, "absence of raise" is a different thing. > Those rules not matching what you or I would have chosen doesn't mean they're either a gift nor theft. It doesn't mean they're not a gift either. Those rules are the result of a complex set of factors including campaign contributions, lobbying, revolving-door promises and occasional outright bribes. They are not Holy Scripture and everyone is entitled to criticise them, which includes defining this or that break with words like "gifts", "giveaways", "pork" and so on.

Retric 10y ago

That's arguable only if tax rates are universal. People pretend a lower long term capital gains rate is a tax cut, but it's effectivly just handing money to a few at the cost of everyone else who needs to fund the government. In the end spending cuts matter, tax cuts are just smoke a mirrors to mask spending as a good thing.