5 ms·

Yes except that the vast majority of the population are part of the businesses in some manner so if you tax all businesses then you are taxing the whole populat

Yes except that the vast majority of the population are part of the businesses in some manner so if you tax all businesses then you are taxing the whole population (or vast majority). And as I said, personal income taxes on wages are actually a business tax. The requirement to provide workers comp, healthcare is a business tax. Businesses are taxed all the time. And those groups of people are financially more powerful collectively than individuals which means those groups of people have a responsibility to help pay for society which they benefit directly from such as roads, power cables, etc. If only one or a very small group "abstract business" was required to pay all the taxes for the entire society, then I would agree with you. However no one is arguing that.

conanbatt 8y ago
> Yes except that the vast majority of the population are part of the businesses in some manner so if you tax all businesses then you are taxing the whole population (or vast majority). And as I said, personal income taxes on wages are actually a business tax. The requirement to provide workers comp, healthcare is a business tax. Businesses are taxed all the time. There is little merit in name of a tax that it gets to "the majority of people". It can fail equitability super hard because of who pays the economic burden of the tax. > And those groups of people are financially more powerful collectively than individuals which means those groups of people have a responsibility to help pay for society which they benefit directly from such as roads, power cables, etc. Sorry, but this is just not economic thinking, not even of the wrong kind. If the burden of a tax is on consumers, your assertion falls hard. If it falls on workers, then you are punishing labor. If it falls on investors you are punishing investment. "Being powerful parts of society" is not an argument for taxation.
- rpedela 8y ago
  I think you and I fundamentally disagree on what a tax is. You seem to view it as punishment or a burden. I view it as the method for paying for things that help the collective good. Not a punishment but rather a duty for those with the means. If we aren't using taxes to collectively protect society (e.g. military, police, courts), help the less fortunate, etc then why collect them at all? The richer the entity (individual or business), the more means they have and the more they actually benefit from those taxes even if they have to pay them. EDIT Just to add, if you agree we need taxation to have functioning society, why wouldn't we get the money from the richest? Why wouldn't we put the burden on the richest? In terms of people inside rich organizations, it is only the already rich, owners and investors, which would feel the burden. Supply and demand will continue to give consumers high quality and low prices. Employees will still get their market-rate wages or minimum wage for low-skill jobs.
  - conanbatt 8y ago
    > think you and I fundamentally disagree on what a tax is. You seem to view it as punishment or a burden. I view it as the method for paying for things that help the collective good. Not a punishment but rather a duty for those with the means. If we aren't using taxes to collectively protect society (e.g. military, police, courts), help the less fortunate, etc then why collect them at all? The richer the entity (individual or business), the more means they have and the more they actually benefit from those taxes even if they have to pay them. A tax IS a punishment. It is a charge not reciprocated by a service to the person that pays for it. Collective goods dont require individualized sacrifices, just individual collaborations. But okay, we can divert ideologically on that point, but nevertheless any effect of taxation is a cost on the person paying for it, and will have the same effects to him as if the person lost the taxed money into the abyss. > Just to add, if you agree we need taxation to have functioning society, why wouldn't we get the money from the richest? Why wouldn't we put the burden on the richest? In terms of people inside rich organizations, it is only the already rich, owners and investors, which would feel the burden. Supply and demand will continue to give consumers high quality and low prices. Employees will still get their market-rate wages or minimum wage for low-skill jobs. I think I've always had a curious thought about the idea of not discriminating minorities, except for the rich, you better discriminate those! If we can agree at least that taxation is the cost of government, why should the cost of government only come from a section of society? A society that achieves to make a part of it responsible for its whole will not thrive in collaboration and cohesiveness. A society where some expect to make a living at the others expense is not a free one. In economic terms, there are multiple criteria on measuring how good a tax is. There is of course how the burden affects the person itself, but also how efficient it is to levy it, how convenient it is to pay or how predictable it is. Satisfying multiple criteria will not give you much room to tax "the rich". There are normative arguments as well: just placing a tax on the rich doesnt mean you'll be able to raise that money, as the rich have the highest recourse to escape. Human beings are very hard to corner!
    - rpedela 8y ago
      > taxation is a cost on the person paying for it, and will have the same effects to him as if the person lost the taxed money into the abyss. In my town, in addition to the normal local taxes, there is a special greenery fee/tax that all residents must pay. It is only $25/year. The purpose is to pay the upkeep of all the green spaces which there are many. I happily pay this because I like to walk through these green spaces. Individually there is no way that $25/year would pay for that, but collectively the town can afford to and it improves living here for all the residents. There are of course many examples where tax money is not used wisely, but there are also many examples where it is. We should get better at spending it wisely which is of course easier said than done. But to say that taxes are like throwing money into the abyss just doesn't stack up to the data.

conanbatt 8y ago

> Yes except that the vast majority of the population are part of the businesses in some manner so if you tax all businesses then you are taxing the whole population (or vast majority). And as I said, personal income taxes on wages are actually a business tax. The requirement to provide workers comp, healthcare is a business tax. Businesses are taxed all the time. There is little merit in name of a tax that it gets to "the majority of people". It can fail equitability super hard because of who pays the economic burden of the tax. > And those groups of people are financially more powerful collectively than individuals which means those groups of people have a responsibility to help pay for society which they benefit directly from such as roads, power cables, etc. Sorry, but this is just not economic thinking, not even of the wrong kind. If the burden of a tax is on consumers, your assertion falls hard. If it falls on workers, then you are punishing labor. If it falls on investors you are punishing investment. "Being powerful parts of society" is not an argument for taxation.

rpedela 8y ago
I think you and I fundamentally disagree on what a tax is. You seem to view it as punishment or a burden. I view it as the method for paying for things that help the collective good. Not a punishment but rather a duty for those with the means. If we aren't using taxes to collectively protect society (e.g. military, police, courts), help the less fortunate, etc then why collect them at all? The richer the entity (individual or business), the more means they have and the more they actually benefit from those taxes even if they have to pay them. EDIT Just to add, if you agree we need taxation to have functioning society, why wouldn't we get the money from the richest? Why wouldn't we put the burden on the richest? In terms of people inside rich organizations, it is only the already rich, owners and investors, which would feel the burden. Supply and demand will continue to give consumers high quality and low prices. Employees will still get their market-rate wages or minimum wage for low-skill jobs.
- conanbatt 8y ago
  > think you and I fundamentally disagree on what a tax is. You seem to view it as punishment or a burden. I view it as the method for paying for things that help the collective good. Not a punishment but rather a duty for those with the means. If we aren't using taxes to collectively protect society (e.g. military, police, courts), help the less fortunate, etc then why collect them at all? The richer the entity (individual or business), the more means they have and the more they actually benefit from those taxes even if they have to pay them. A tax IS a punishment. It is a charge not reciprocated by a service to the person that pays for it. Collective goods dont require individualized sacrifices, just individual collaborations. But okay, we can divert ideologically on that point, but nevertheless any effect of taxation is a cost on the person paying for it, and will have the same effects to him as if the person lost the taxed money into the abyss. > Just to add, if you agree we need taxation to have functioning society, why wouldn't we get the money from the richest? Why wouldn't we put the burden on the richest? In terms of people inside rich organizations, it is only the already rich, owners and investors, which would feel the burden. Supply and demand will continue to give consumers high quality and low prices. Employees will still get their market-rate wages or minimum wage for low-skill jobs. I think I've always had a curious thought about the idea of not discriminating minorities, except for the rich, you better discriminate those! If we can agree at least that taxation is the cost of government, why should the cost of government only come from a section of society? A society that achieves to make a part of it responsible for its whole will not thrive in collaboration and cohesiveness. A society where some expect to make a living at the others expense is not a free one. In economic terms, there are multiple criteria on measuring how good a tax is. There is of course how the burden affects the person itself, but also how efficient it is to levy it, how convenient it is to pay or how predictable it is. Satisfying multiple criteria will not give you much room to tax "the rich". There are normative arguments as well: just placing a tax on the rich doesnt mean you'll be able to raise that money, as the rich have the highest recourse to escape. Human beings are very hard to corner!
  - rpedela 8y ago
    > taxation is a cost on the person paying for it, and will have the same effects to him as if the person lost the taxed money into the abyss. In my town, in addition to the normal local taxes, there is a special greenery fee/tax that all residents must pay. It is only $25/year. The purpose is to pay the upkeep of all the green spaces which there are many. I happily pay this because I like to walk through these green spaces. Individually there is no way that $25/year would pay for that, but collectively the town can afford to and it improves living here for all the residents. There are of course many examples where tax money is not used wisely, but there are also many examples where it is. We should get better at spending it wisely which is of course easier said than done. But to say that taxes are like throwing money into the abyss just doesn't stack up to the data.