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A good reason? No. A reason? Lobbying.
by Hamuko 6y ago
A good reason? No. A reason? Lobbying.
- MuffinFlavored 6y agoWhy are other countries not victim to lobbying in the way America is? Is it just a double-edged sword that we have to thank for making us (one of) the economic powerhouse(s) of the world? At the same time, it feels like it to blame on why we can't have anything nice when compared to European countries. Am I out of line/uneducated on this matter? I very well could be. I hate just chalking the root of problems up to some massive unbeatable evil force (like lobbying).
- ajmadesc 6y agoAmerican lobbying practices are criminal offences that would land you with corruption charges in Europe.
- consp 6y ago> Why are other countries not victim to lobbying in the way America is? My guess would be the will to collect taxes is stronger than the lobbying to make it more difficult. In Europe there is far less opposition to taxation as well.
- metiscus 6y agoOne of the major reasons for the independence of the United States from the United Kingdom was a tax revolt. Anti-tax opinion is deeply rooted in the culture for better or worse.
- Super_Jambo 6y agoAmerica has a huge economy & relatively few legislators. The return on investment for corruption in America is _huge_ compared with other democratic countries. I do think the FPTP system in the US and UK concentrates power. And that makes them better able to exploit foreign countries (Arms deals, coups etc). But that seems less about lobbying it's more that the concentration of power makes lobbying more profitable.
- Majromax 6y ago> Why are other countries not victim to lobbying in the way America is? Among other reasons, America has a uniquely loose political fundraising / election spending system. If all else fails, a company like H&R Block can directly take out election ads -- with business funds -- to campaign against candidates who would support simplified filing measures. This would be somewhere between illegal and heavily curtailed in other countries. The net effect is to give greater policy weight to issues that give concentrated benefits to (or avoid concentrated costs on) small, well-funded groups at the expense of diffuse costs (or foregone benefits) to the general public.
- rayiner 6y agoIt’s interesting to me that people assume it’s lobbying, and not the fact that Americans are the most anti-tax people on the planet, creating a strong constituency for making tax filing difficult to increase public visibility of tax rates. In the 2020 election, pretty much every ballot measure to increase taxes failed, including in blue states like Illinois and Colorado. Other countries have lobbying too. What they don’t have is a huge population that hates taxes with a passion.
- JackFr 6y ago> Americans are the most anti-tax people on the planet Our origin story is literally a tax revolt. “No taxation without representation” — they weren't looking to get a couple of new members elected to Parliament. Definitely focused on the no taxation part.
- rayiner 6y agoWhat’s surprising is how it’s kept up through subsequent waves of immigration. My dad is an immigrant from Bangladesh, votes straight ticket Democrat, but thinks Biden’s “no tax increases for people making less than $400,000 policy” is totally sensible.
- tptacek 6y agoI mean, dislike of taxation is apparently such a part of Greek culture that they've turned tax avoidance into a national sport, right? Presumably it's not just us.
- rayiner 6y agoYou’re right, I should qualify that with “among the people who are rule-followers enough to actually pay the taxes they owe.” Nobody complains about taxes in Bangladesh because nobody pays them.