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>since taxpayers might end up paying taxes already on the books that they might have previously unintentionally evaded. To take the charitable explanation of t
by pbh101 10y ago
>since taxpayers might end up paying taxes already on the books that they might have previously unintentionally evaded.
To take the charitable explanation of this position: studies have shown that prices go up when the payer gets more separated from the actual payment process: credit cards, automated tollbooths, and further open-road tolling have all been shown to significantly (statistically) correlate to higher prices. Automated billing is another great example of this.
As much as I want a simpler tax code and system (while I lived in Amsterdam I could literally calculate my own taxes in a spreadsheet. It was simple... but very expensive), given this data I don't think it unreasonable to think that putting lessening the cognitive burden of the payment process will lead to higher taxes.
- avmich 10y agoOn the other hand, simpler taxes would lead to less expensive tax filing process. You don't need to buy an updated software, pay a professional or spend some hours - if not days - of your life doing something like that. Are you sure people should keep this inconvenience as a reminder of government expenses?
- pbh101 10y agoBelieve me, I would love a simpler system, if not only for my own life but because the rent-seeking of Intuit et al is infuriating. Though I think almost any tax increase would dwarf the marginal reduction of filing process price (and probably time for many too). What I wanted to specifically notr is that this is also an effect I think it valid for Norquist to point out, not only that treating unintentional tax evasion reduction as a tax hike, which I think is a silly argument.
- spoonie 10y agoHow is easy filing for those who only earn income through employment any different from people who pay for tax prep every year? The people who pay for tax prep probably aren't thinking much about it either.
- IanCal 10y agoOn the other hand, confusing pricing can be used to get people to spend more. My local supermarket sells lots of produce as £X/kg and £Y/item. People buy a bag with three onions in for 65p instead of picking up three onions from the box right next to it at 75p/kg.