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Simple tax laws are easy to enforce and leave no room for creativity. They also leave no room for "cheap" campaign promises and new initiatives that politician
by ghein 8y ago
Simple tax laws are easy to enforce and leave no room for creativity.
They also leave no room for "cheap" campaign promises and new initiatives that politicians can announce and display to the media (repeatedly). We'll give a tax credit for low emissions vehicles to save your children's lungs and the planet! An incentive to finance homes for nurses!
Tax is just code. Poorly architected code with lots of documentation that obfuscates rather than illuminates.
Politicians love to nudge through the tax system as it seems cheap, costs are obscured as, and there's no project to fail like there is if you try to build something. You end up with perpetual scope creep and "minor" additions.
Then you get people politicizing the outcomes - "bad people" are taking advantage of a good program, or a "bad company" isn't paying as much as someone thinks they should in an ideal world. If you are going to live in a nation of laws rather than the whim of some functionary you need to let everyone do what is legal, rather than just preferred individuals or classes.
- toss1 8y agoTotally agree that politicians like to over-complicate and obfuscate tax code and other things, and that tax code is an insanely complex mess. Certainly should be fixed. Yet, it does not follow that similarly elaborate non-payment near-scams (& felonious schemes) are a necessary feature. An overly complex tax code is a necessary prerequisite, but not a sufficient condition. for that, you also need scheming MBAs & accountants.