4 ms·

Right -- so those 7 states listed in the article have alternative forms of tax (corporate income tax, oil-production taxes, etc.). Are you opposed solely to pe

by frio 10y ago

Right -- so those 7 states listed in the article have alternative forms of tax (corporate income tax, oil-production taxes, etc.). Are you opposed solely to personal income taxes (while still supporting alternative forms of tax), or are you opposed to all taxation?

jakeogh 10y ago
Personal income tax only. In general, I believe individuals are the best deciders on how to spend their money, but I do not deny that gov has a responsibility to defend life, liberty and property. If it can't do that with the voluntary support of it's citizens (aka owners) then it deserves to be replaced. Fortunately we have a pretty awesome system to do exactly that. I was too glib (wrong) in my second response to the assertion that my statement implies all social policies are theft.
- frio 10y ago
  I see; fair enough :). I'm not personally opposed to personal income tax, but I'm from a country that leans a little more to the left overall and the benefits of my taxation are evident. It's also less vexing; the tax comes directly out of my paycheque -- I never see that money. My understanding is that in the USA, one has to annually perform a federal tax return? I'm not exactly pro-income tax either, but (governed effectively!) personal income tax has always seemed to me like a least-worst solution to funding a government and a country's public infrastructure. It's not great, but it provides the least opportunity for mass rorting (although that no longer seems to be true, the more I think on it). I could be convinced that other solutions work :).
  - jakeogh 10y ago
    Thanks :) Yes, every year we are expected to fill out a bunch of paperwork (generally between 1 and 100 pages) and hand it in by a certain date "or else". The bureaucracy that interprets this paperwork (imho) is a total waste of money (on the personal income tax side), and the time_cost*every_taxpayer is absurd. For most people, their employer took out (in excess) taxes all year and sent them in, so they get a refund (after the paperwork ritual) on the loan they made to the gov with 0% interest. I'm not a fan on taxes on things you own because it means you don't _really_ own them. For example a person who owns a piece of property but can not pay the property tax. It gets taken from them by force if necessary, hence they never really owned it. At the very least we should carve out an exemption for property you live on. Transaction taxes don't have that problem.

by frio 10y ago

jakeogh 10y ago

Personal income tax only. In general, I believe individuals are the best deciders on how to spend their money, but I do not deny that gov has a responsibility to defend life, liberty and property. If it can't do that with the voluntary support of it's citizens (aka owners) then it deserves to be replaced. Fortunately we have a pretty awesome system to do exactly that. I was too glib (wrong) in my second response to the assertion that my statement implies all social policies are theft.

frio 10y ago
I see; fair enough :). I'm not personally opposed to personal income tax, but I'm from a country that leans a little more to the left overall and the benefits of my taxation are evident. It's also less vexing; the tax comes directly out of my paycheque -- I never see that money. My understanding is that in the USA, one has to annually perform a federal tax return? I'm not exactly pro-income tax either, but (governed effectively!) personal income tax has always seemed to me like a least-worst solution to funding a government and a country's public infrastructure. It's not great, but it provides the least opportunity for mass rorting (although that no longer seems to be true, the more I think on it). I could be convinced that other solutions work :).
- jakeogh 10y ago
  Thanks :) Yes, every year we are expected to fill out a bunch of paperwork (generally between 1 and 100 pages) and hand it in by a certain date "or else". The bureaucracy that interprets this paperwork (imho) is a total waste of money (on the personal income tax side), and the time_cost*every_taxpayer is absurd. For most people, their employer took out (in excess) taxes all year and sent them in, so they get a refund (after the paperwork ritual) on the loan they made to the gov with 0% interest. I'm not a fan on taxes on things you own because it means you don't _really_ own them. For example a person who owns a piece of property but can not pay the property tax. It gets taken from them by force if necessary, hence they never really owned it. At the very least we should carve out an exemption for property you live on. Transaction taxes don't have that problem.