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> Should engineers and programmers pay more money for the same laptop as an art student? No, of course not, if it's the same laptop. But suppose there is a la
by jacques_chester 8y ago
> Should engineers and programmers pay more money for the same laptop as an art student?
No, of course not, if it's the same laptop.
But suppose there is a laptop tax of $300. If the engineer and art student buy the same $3000 laptop, that's 10%. But let's be realistic here: art students will probably have a $1000 or even $500 laptop. Suddenly their tax rate is 30% or 60%, compared to the engineer's 10%.
Excises and levies are not flat taxes. They are regressive in structure. Whether you agree with progressive taxation is one matter, but I feel as though everyone agrees that taxation should at least be linear to the thing being taxed.