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> Unless the law allowed "between $x and $y depending on your local tax rate" (where X and Y are based on the lowest and highest tax rate for the advertising ar

by cowpig 4y ago

> Unless the law allowed "between $x and $y depending on your local tax rate" (where X and Y are based on the lowest and highest tax rate for the advertising area). What's wrong with this solution? Getting rid of sales tax would be the best solution imo but complicated

b112 4y ago
Very complicated. Getting rid of consumption tax, means income tax is the sole source for citizen taxation. To replace consumption tax, which ensures those with large savings, yet no income, still get taxed as they spend, you'd have to somehow have full disclosure of all assets, and tax that, along with all the privacy implications. And just imagine all the work, with every citizen's assets being examined yearly. Of course, there are other options, but not many which replace consumption tax.
- harles 4y ago
  This seems like speculation not based in reality. Do Montana, Alaska, Oregon, Delaware, or New Hampshirite do this?
  - b112 4y ago
    I don't know. They do still have federal sales tax I presume, and get kickbacks from the federal level for projects? Some places may also benefit from high property tax, which now that I think of it, is a "holding" tax, not income tax.
    - leesalminen 4y ago
      There is no federal sales tax. If you go to a store in Delaware there is no sales tax of any kind charged.
  - ensignavenger 4y ago
    Alaska gets a lot of money from natural resources. New Hampshire gets a lot of money from property taxes. They do have sales tax on a few items, but call it something else (I think restaurants and hotels?). I don't know about the other states.
- cowpig 4y ago
  There are many other taxes. There are tariffs, capital gains, or estate taxes, for example. Additionally, not all consumption taxes are across-the-board sales taxes. Across-the-board sales taxes are highly regressive taxes, because basic consumption needs are relatively flat across a population, so the poorest people pay a much higher percentage of their income in sales taxes than the wealthy.
  - b112 4y ago
    Yes, so here, Canada, we tend to make that flat sales tax more complex, so some groceries are excempt, some meals, etc. Which makes it harder for people to know all the ins and outs of...
    - xboxnolifes 4y ago
      > Yes, so here, Canada, we tend to make that flat sales tax more complex, so some groceries are excempt, some meals, etc. This is also the case in the US (varies state by state).
  - xtracto 4y ago
    The way that could be fixed is classifying goods and services into socio-economic class demand (A, B, C+, etc). Here in Mexico we have something called the "canasta básica" (basic basket) which encompasses a set of goods that are defined as basic for living (they are 40 https://www.gob.mx/canastabasica https://www.gob.mx/canastabasica unfortunately the list is in an image so not easy to google translate... stupid government pages). These are closely guarded by the government and I believe the price is closely protected. Something like that could be extrapolated, and set different taxes to different goods and services. Like, (IMHO, please don't flame me) an XBOX should be heavily taxed, running shoes should be heavily taxed, a "gaming graphics card" should be heavily taxed. Same with services: "go cart racing" should be heavily taxed, Fast-food should be heavily taxed, while fixing stuff (fixing your blender, or your washing machine) should not.
    - Spooky23 4y ago
      It gets complicated. In New York, food and clothing is not taxable. The gotcha is “prepared food”, which is taxable. For example, an unsliced bagel is food. A sliced to order bagel is prepared food and taxable. A system like you describe would be insanely complex. Here’s NY guidance on when a sandwich is taxable: https://www.tax.ny.gov/pubs_and_bulls/tg_bulletins/st/sandwiches.htm https://www.tax.ny.gov/pubs_and_bulls/tg_bulletins/st/sandwi... As insane as that is, I think it makes the sales tax more progressive, as poorer people spend a high proportion of income on food. I am always struck when I travel to a place like South Carolina, where the property taxes are low, but people with nothing are paying 9% sales taxes on food.

by cowpig 4y ago

b112 4y ago

Very complicated. Getting rid of consumption tax, means income tax is the sole source for citizen taxation. To replace consumption tax, which ensures those with large savings, yet no income, still get taxed as they spend, you'd have to somehow have full disclosure of all assets, and tax that, along with all the privacy implications. And just imagine all the work, with every citizen's assets being examined yearly. Of course, there are other options, but not many which replace consumption tax.

harles 4y ago
This seems like speculation not based in reality. Do Montana, Alaska, Oregon, Delaware, or New Hampshirite do this?
- b112 4y ago
  I don't know. They do still have federal sales tax I presume, and get kickbacks from the federal level for projects? Some places may also benefit from high property tax, which now that I think of it, is a "holding" tax, not income tax.
  - leesalminen 4y ago
    There is no federal sales tax. If you go to a store in Delaware there is no sales tax of any kind charged.
- ensignavenger 4y ago
  Alaska gets a lot of money from natural resources. New Hampshire gets a lot of money from property taxes. They do have sales tax on a few items, but call it something else (I think restaurants and hotels?). I don't know about the other states.
cowpig 4y ago
There are many other taxes. There are tariffs, capital gains, or estate taxes, for example. Additionally, not all consumption taxes are across-the-board sales taxes. Across-the-board sales taxes are highly regressive taxes, because basic consumption needs are relatively flat across a population, so the poorest people pay a much higher percentage of their income in sales taxes than the wealthy.
- b112 4y ago
  Yes, so here, Canada, we tend to make that flat sales tax more complex, so some groceries are excempt, some meals, etc. Which makes it harder for people to know all the ins and outs of...
  - xboxnolifes 4y ago
    > Yes, so here, Canada, we tend to make that flat sales tax more complex, so some groceries are excempt, some meals, etc. This is also the case in the US (varies state by state).
- xtracto 4y ago
  The way that could be fixed is classifying goods and services into socio-economic class demand (A, B, C+, etc). Here in Mexico we have something called the "canasta básica" (basic basket) which encompasses a set of goods that are defined as basic for living (they are 40 https://www.gob.mx/canastabasica https://www.gob.mx/canastabasica unfortunately the list is in an image so not easy to google translate... stupid government pages). These are closely guarded by the government and I believe the price is closely protected. Something like that could be extrapolated, and set different taxes to different goods and services. Like, (IMHO, please don't flame me) an XBOX should be heavily taxed, running shoes should be heavily taxed, a "gaming graphics card" should be heavily taxed. Same with services: "go cart racing" should be heavily taxed, Fast-food should be heavily taxed, while fixing stuff (fixing your blender, or your washing machine) should not.
  - Spooky23 4y ago
    It gets complicated. In New York, food and clothing is not taxable. The gotcha is “prepared food”, which is taxable. For example, an unsliced bagel is food. A sliced to order bagel is prepared food and taxable. A system like you describe would be insanely complex. Here’s NY guidance on when a sandwich is taxable: https://www.tax.ny.gov/pubs_and_bulls/tg_bulletins/st/sandwiches.htm https://www.tax.ny.gov/pubs_and_bulls/tg_bulletins/st/sandwi... As insane as that is, I think it makes the sales tax more progressive, as poorer people spend a high proportion of income on food. I am always struck when I travel to a place like South Carolina, where the property taxes are low, but people with nothing are paying 9% sales taxes on food.