2 ms·
German has extremely liberal inheritance taxes. On the one hand this is often justified with the existence of the German "Mittelstand" (medium sized businesses
by hnbad 5y ago
German has extremely liberal inheritance taxes. On the one hand this is often justified with the existence of the German "Mittelstand" (medium sized businesses typically owned by one family over generations), on the other this means the easiest way to get rich is to have rich parents.
Low inheritance taxes are actually a great predictor for maintaining social inequality over generations. If you wanted to reduce social inequality you'd instead want to drastically lower VAT (which disproportionately affects poorer people), adjust income taxes to lower the tax burden on lower incomes and raise it on higher incomes, and drastically raise taxes on income from capital (rather than labor). This isn't even simply an opinion, this is scientific consensus.
- sokoloff 5y agoThat reduces social inequality, but that is not the singular goal of a society. Producing goods and services and wealth for the nation is a goal that competes with “tax away almost all the gains of these activities”, which is why there’s debate about how to balance these things.
- hnbad 5y agoFrankly, who is "the nation" if not its people? As long as even a single individual suffers poverty, "the nation" has failed. If "the nation" is its people, protecting every single person from hardship is a higher goal than allowing a minority to live in excessive luxury. If you think the "wealth of a nation" is measured by the luxury of a few rather than the poverty of the many, you might as well just revert to feudalism.