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While it's hard to argue against simplifying the current tax system somewhat, I think proposals like this are missing something, intentionally or not. An extrem
by alanbernstein 5y ago
While it's hard to argue against simplifying the current tax system somewhat, I think proposals like this are missing something, intentionally or not. An extremely simplified system may not be the most effective.
One purpose the tax code serves is to incentivize behavior. If that tool is taken away from the government, what will the unforeseen costs be? Do they outweigh the benefits?
- ixacto 5y agoWhy should the government be allowed to incentivize our behavior in the first place? I’d ask this from a philosophical standpoint here, not really a legal one as this could be applied to other non-US governments as well. If I want to sit attend and eat cheeseburgers all day and be morbidly obese should the government try and incentivize me to go to therapy and a weight loss clinic? If I want to follow a religion that is very different from the status quo e.g. Ultra-Orthodox Judaism or the Old Order Amish Mennonite Church and live apart from society should the government be ok with this or instead try to incentivize me to a certain behavior? Should we use a tax-incentive to encourage having more children or getting the COVID vaccine? There are lots of unforeseen costs here. I’d say this is not the best idea to incentivize anything. Way too many unintended consequences of tax incentives.
- alanbernstein 5y agoI won't claim to know the right answer to these questions, from any standpoint. My point is that these are the questions that should be raised in this kind of discussion, instead of asserting "simple is better, let's throw out everything".