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Does humanity really want an authority powerful enough to claim dominion over the entire planet?

by gotoeleven 5y ago

belatw 5y ago
Isn’t that why more than 50% of the globe blindly worship an abrahamic god?
- colecut 5y ago
  So hip, so edgy
  - belatw 5y ago
    Sure, whatever. The fact is that all abrahamists follow some version of a silly book in which some sky daddy told a man in a desert that they are the choosen people and that by following that specific man, they have the right to dominion over the earth. These philosophies also all lay out rules for how and when they may tax, kill and enslave those of the other religion. So yes, at least 50% of the earth’s population are OK with one group dominating the tax laws of the planet, as long as it is their group.
    - colecut 5y ago
      Truly stunning interpretation
nerdponx 5y ago
We already have the UN, INTERPOL, and the ICC. Also, this isn't a single authority, this is one authority asking other authorities to all agree on something.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
karmasimida 5y ago
If that authority is to prevent several thousands rich folks to exploit the rest several billions ... maybe it could be given a try? The current system isn't working anyway
yowlingcat 5y ago
> Does humanity really want an authority powerful enough to claim dominion over the entire planet? I believe the word you're looking for there is /did/ not /does/. And the answer is for some, yes, for some, no, but regardless -- it happened for a variety of structural reasons (British Empire, Mongol Empire, etc). Perhaps a more interesting question is whether such a dominion will work for the future. And for that, I'm not so sure. What's to say that we won't see some kind of three body system between India, China and the West? Not to mention what could happen as South America and Africa continue to ascend. I think the logistics of collecting a 15% global tax will be "interesting" to watch play out.
nostromo 5y ago
This isn't a great article. It's more about the politics than the actual proposal. Bloomberg has a better write up: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-08/plans-for-a-bigger-pie-of-global-taxes-sliced-fairly-quicktake https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-08/plans-for... To answer your question, this wouldn't create a new organization to collect a global tax. Instead it would give the IRS the authority to tax American companies (say, Google) an additional amount on their overseas earnings. So, if they paid 13% in Irish tax, but the American tax rate is %21, the IRS could charge them the gap (an additional 8%). This would be true in all countries that sign the agreement. Obviously tax havens would still exist, but they'd be harder for big multinationals (like American tech giants) to abuse.
- hellow0rldz 5y ago
  Last I checked the US tax code does this already. If the US tax rate is higher you pay the difference!
  - maneesh 5y ago
    I believe that's on personal income tax, not on global corporations.
  - coliveira 5y ago
    For individuals, not for corporations. Corps can keep their profits oversees, which operates like a 401k that you never need to withdraw from.
    - Aerroon 5y ago
      But aren't corporations in another country corporations of that country? They follow all the laws and rules of that country, not US ones. When a European has dealings with Google they aren't dealing with Google Inc, they're dealing with Google Ireland Ltd.
- coliveira 5y ago
  I think the point is that to do this, tax agencies around the world would have to cooperate with American tax agencies, which just creates another level of overseeing that has never happened before. It is another instance of Americans trying to force their wishes on the rest of the world.
disposekinetics 5y ago
The problem is government overreach and the proposed solution is more overreach.
CPLNTN 5y ago
My two cent is that it’s just inevitable (and personally welcomed). Throughout the history, from tribes to today we have merged in bigger and bigger entities. And pretending that we can live without a global authority, when supply chains are global, food market are global, most of what happens in politics has global effect is total nonsense IMO. We pretend we live in separate societies with entirely different rules when we are already operating like a single, global organism.

Does humanity really want an authority powerful enough to claim dominion over the entire planet?

belatw 5y ago

Isn’t that why more than 50% of the globe blindly worship an abrahamic god?

colecut 5y ago
So hip, so edgy
- belatw 5y ago
  Sure, whatever. The fact is that all abrahamists follow some version of a silly book in which some sky daddy told a man in a desert that they are the choosen people and that by following that specific man, they have the right to dominion over the earth. These philosophies also all lay out rules for how and when they may tax, kill and enslave those of the other religion. So yes, at least 50% of the earth’s population are OK with one group dominating the tax laws of the planet, as long as it is their group.
  - colecut 5y ago
    Truly stunning interpretation

nerdponx 5y ago

We already have the UN, INTERPOL, and the ICC. Also, this isn't a single authority, this is one authority asking other authorities to all agree on something.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

karmasimida 5y ago

If that authority is to prevent several thousands rich folks to exploit the rest several billions ... maybe it could be given a try? The current system isn't working anyway

yowlingcat 5y ago

> Does humanity really want an authority powerful enough to claim dominion over the entire planet? I believe the word you're looking for there is /did/ not /does/. And the answer is for some, yes, for some, no, but regardless -- it happened for a variety of structural reasons (British Empire, Mongol Empire, etc). Perhaps a more interesting question is whether such a dominion will work for the future. And for that, I'm not so sure. What's to say that we won't see some kind of three body system between India, China and the West? Not to mention what could happen as South America and Africa continue to ascend. I think the logistics of collecting a 15% global tax will be "interesting" to watch play out.

nostromo 5y ago

This isn't a great article. It's more about the politics than the actual proposal. Bloomberg has a better write up: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-08/plans-for-a-bigger-pie-of-global-taxes-sliced-fairly-quicktake https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-08/plans-for... To answer your question, this wouldn't create a new organization to collect a global tax. Instead it would give the IRS the authority to tax American companies (say, Google) an additional amount on their overseas earnings. So, if they paid 13% in Irish tax, but the American tax rate is %21, the IRS could charge them the gap (an additional 8%). This would be true in all countries that sign the agreement. Obviously tax havens would still exist, but they'd be harder for big multinationals (like American tech giants) to abuse.

hellow0rldz 5y ago
Last I checked the US tax code does this already. If the US tax rate is higher you pay the difference!
- maneesh 5y ago
  I believe that's on personal income tax, not on global corporations.
- coliveira 5y ago
  For individuals, not for corporations. Corps can keep their profits oversees, which operates like a 401k that you never need to withdraw from.
  - Aerroon 5y ago
    But aren't corporations in another country corporations of that country? They follow all the laws and rules of that country, not US ones. When a European has dealings with Google they aren't dealing with Google Inc, they're dealing with Google Ireland Ltd.
coliveira 5y ago
I think the point is that to do this, tax agencies around the world would have to cooperate with American tax agencies, which just creates another level of overseeing that has never happened before. It is another instance of Americans trying to force their wishes on the rest of the world.

disposekinetics 5y ago

The problem is government overreach and the proposed solution is more overreach.

CPLNTN 5y ago

My two cent is that it’s just inevitable (and personally welcomed). Throughout the history, from tribes to today we have merged in bigger and bigger entities. And pretending that we can live without a global authority, when supply chains are global, food market are global, most of what happens in politics has global effect is total nonsense IMO. We pretend we live in separate societies with entirely different rules when we are already operating like a single, global organism.