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The tax rates are probably the simplest part of a tax code. Defining what 'income' really is or what an allowable 'expense' is, not so easy. Should two farmer
by PorterDuff 8y ago
The tax rates are probably the simplest part of a tax code.
Defining what 'income' really is or what an allowable 'expense' is, not so easy. Should two farmers helping each other out 1099 each other? Can a wealthy but chronically ill executive write off his RN wife's presence on a business trip?
- hliyan 8y agoThere has to be some way to reduce these scenarios to a set of principles, rather than defining a rule for every single scenario...
- PorterDuff 8y agoIt's called tax code. ...and then all the corner cases go to tax court. Thing is, life is more complicated than law.
- abecedarius 8y agoThis is a big part of why land-value tax sounds like a better idea to me. It wouldn't be immune to complication either, but the scope of required nosiness seems at least less incredibly intrusive. But most of the time, in the course of getting passed, proposed simplifications become additions instead of replacements. It's depressing.
- PorterDuff 8y agoIt seems like simplifications don't last long anyway as the real world impinges...plus, the rats always head right for the cheese. To me, it's like the handwaving you hear about simply using a consumption tax. No doubt, people would find an infinite number of ways to game the system toot sweet. Of course, implementing socially desirable behavior via tax law just throws even more complexity in the mix. Generally, I'd say that the larger the government share of GDP, the more opportunity for craziness. If your underlying culture doesn't reign anything in, mayhem results.