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Different taxes affect different people differently. Sales tax primarily hits poor people for example - there’s only so much the rich can spend their money on.

Different taxes affect different people differently. Sales tax primarily hits poor people for example - there’s only so much the rich can spend their money on. Bracketed income tax can be made to have low impact for lower income while boosting revenue. Property taxes tax the permanent residents but misses out the opportunity of, let’s say, taxing the tourists. Those are all levers. There was a recent article on economist that compared the tax models of California and Texas. One has a progressive income tax but crippled property tax and the other has no income tax but a steady property tax. Everything from the risk to revenue and the impact it has on the people vary so much. Neither is good in a way. The best system will use all three in the right proportion.

zzzzzzzza 7y ago
tourists can still end up paying for property taxes. They occupy physical space. Best system is a pure land value tax. You can sprinkle in pigovian taxes to taste.
dragonwriter 7y ago
> Property taxes tax the permanent residents but misses out the opportunity of, let’s say, taxing the tourists. Tourists pay real property taxes because those taxes are factors into accommodation prices, and into the prices of goods and services sold to tourists.
- writepub 7y ago
  > those taxes are factors into accommodation prices Citation needed. Accommodation pricing is typically set by supply and demand. Which is why, last minute hotel deals at steep discounts are a thing. > Tourists pay real property taxes Then states/counties should be recovering delinquent property taxes from them
  - eppp 7y ago
    There is no citation needed. Property taxes are one of the base costs in determining the revenue needed for keeping the accommodation provider open. It then follows that that cost must be paid by the customers if the establishment is to be profitable. If the business is being operated at a loss on purpose then this doesn't apply. The tourists in aggregate are therefore paying the property taxes of the establishment.
    - writepub 7y ago
      > It then follows that that cost must be paid by the customers .. It absolutely does not follow at all. When costs are disconnected from pricing, the business undergoes a loss. For instance, many rural Texas cities have high property taxes, and low demand for hotel rooms. In many of these places hotels are unviable, because the market would never pay enough to eke out a profit. In such places, Airbnb is surprisingly effective, as the renter typically sees AirBnB income as a bonus, and doesn't rely on it to make a living.
  - dragonwriter 7y ago
    > Accommodation pricing is typically set by supply and demand. Obviously, but taxes directly effect supply (supply is not the quantity of units available, it's the function mapping price to the quantity of units people are willing to provide at that price; likewise with demand with “pay for” in place of “provide”; taxes directly paid by the party providing a good or service as a consequence of providing it shift upward the price at which they are willing to provide any given number of units of the good or service.)

zzzzzzzza 7y ago

tourists can still end up paying for property taxes. They occupy physical space. Best system is a pure land value tax. You can sprinkle in pigovian taxes to taste.

dragonwriter 7y ago

> Property taxes tax the permanent residents but misses out the opportunity of, let’s say, taxing the tourists. Tourists pay real property taxes because those taxes are factors into accommodation prices, and into the prices of goods and services sold to tourists.

writepub 7y ago
> those taxes are factors into accommodation prices Citation needed. Accommodation pricing is typically set by supply and demand. Which is why, last minute hotel deals at steep discounts are a thing. > Tourists pay real property taxes Then states/counties should be recovering delinquent property taxes from them
- eppp 7y ago
  There is no citation needed. Property taxes are one of the base costs in determining the revenue needed for keeping the accommodation provider open. It then follows that that cost must be paid by the customers if the establishment is to be profitable. If the business is being operated at a loss on purpose then this doesn't apply. The tourists in aggregate are therefore paying the property taxes of the establishment.
  - writepub 7y ago
    > It then follows that that cost must be paid by the customers .. It absolutely does not follow at all. When costs are disconnected from pricing, the business undergoes a loss. For instance, many rural Texas cities have high property taxes, and low demand for hotel rooms. In many of these places hotels are unviable, because the market would never pay enough to eke out a profit. In such places, Airbnb is surprisingly effective, as the renter typically sees AirBnB income as a bonus, and doesn't rely on it to make a living.
- dragonwriter 7y ago
  > Accommodation pricing is typically set by supply and demand. Obviously, but taxes directly effect supply (supply is not the quantity of units available, it's the function mapping price to the quantity of units people are willing to provide at that price; likewise with demand with “pay for” in place of “provide”; taxes directly paid by the party providing a good or service as a consequence of providing it shift upward the price at which they are willing to provide any given number of units of the good or service.)