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Solving this problem with law wouldn't be easy, though. The taxation laws would need to be made extremely complex. They would have to take into consideration th

Solving this problem with law wouldn't be easy, though. The taxation laws would need to be made extremely complex. They would have to take into consideration the situation of the whole family, for example. Would that be fair? Also, would it make sense to consider potential inheritance? The potential for abuse is enormous. Probably higher property tax for high-value properties could help a bit, bit it's just a drop in the ocean.

krageon 3y ago
You would tax based on family income instead of individual income. I don't see what's complicated about this.
- gedy 3y ago
  Agreed, this is what US has with married/family taxes.
  - dvfjsdhgfv 3y ago
    The point is, this would basically concern parents with children. What about their grandparents who own a large property? They are treated separately when they are alive because they are a different household. But once they die, they pass their real estate to their offspring. Should those expecting inheritance be treated differently?
    - krageon 3y ago
      This was about income tax. Not inheritance tax.
valval 3y ago
Flat tax.
globular-toast 3y ago
If you want to truly even out the playing field, just ban inheritance. You would think this would be a primary goal of pro-equality types but, oddly, even the poorer people in society are against this for various reasons. We can't ban genetic inheritance, but we compound its effects by allowing wealth inheritance too. I get that there's sentimentality and people would be against the family home being taken by the state upon death of a parent, but we could give family first dibs on buying the house. The difference being they actually have to buy it, they don't just get it. But I also think it's important to focus on the thing that really matters which is happiness, not wealth. It seems to me that above a certain level of wealth people can be happy, and that level is way lower than even the median level of wealth in many Western countries. Unhappiness at high levels of wealth comes from the Hedonic treadmill which is driven by inequality. Basically people see others with "more" than them and it makes them unhappy. If they never saw that, they could be happy. So I would study what goods have this effect and massively tax them. Luxury/big cars are a good example. Any action should not be just to even out wealth for the sake of it, it should be about achieving a happier society (and note I didn't say more productive society etc. that is also something that should only be pursued if it leads to more happiness).
- c22 3y ago
  Wealthy people can afford to set their children up financially before they die whereas normal people might have to, yanno, keep living in that house till the end.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- engcoach 3y ago
  > Basically people see others with "more" than them and it makes them unhappy. If they never saw that, they could be happy Maybe. Or they’d be unhappy about something else (genetics or physicality). Being happy is a choice.
  - globular-toast 3y ago
    > Being happy is a choice. I suppose you are thinking of a philosophy like Stoicism? I have read a fair bit but wonder how it deals with cases where other people are incentivised to make you unhappy. That's basically what marketing/advertising is. They thrive on making you want something by whatever means e.g. lying, addiction etc.

krageon 3y ago

You would tax based on family income instead of individual income. I don't see what's complicated about this.

gedy 3y ago
Agreed, this is what US has with married/family taxes.
- dvfjsdhgfv 3y ago
  The point is, this would basically concern parents with children. What about their grandparents who own a large property? They are treated separately when they are alive because they are a different household. But once they die, they pass their real estate to their offspring. Should those expecting inheritance be treated differently?
  - krageon 3y ago
    This was about income tax. Not inheritance tax.

valval 3y ago

Flat tax.

globular-toast 3y ago

If you want to truly even out the playing field, just ban inheritance. You would think this would be a primary goal of pro-equality types but, oddly, even the poorer people in society are against this for various reasons. We can't ban genetic inheritance, but we compound its effects by allowing wealth inheritance too. I get that there's sentimentality and people would be against the family home being taken by the state upon death of a parent, but we could give family first dibs on buying the house. The difference being they actually have to buy it, they don't just get it. But I also think it's important to focus on the thing that really matters which is happiness, not wealth. It seems to me that above a certain level of wealth people can be happy, and that level is way lower than even the median level of wealth in many Western countries. Unhappiness at high levels of wealth comes from the Hedonic treadmill which is driven by inequality. Basically people see others with "more" than them and it makes them unhappy. If they never saw that, they could be happy. So I would study what goods have this effect and massively tax them. Luxury/big cars are a good example. Any action should not be just to even out wealth for the sake of it, it should be about achieving a happier society (and note I didn't say more productive society etc. that is also something that should only be pursued if it leads to more happiness).

c22 3y ago
Wealthy people can afford to set their children up financially before they die whereas normal people might have to, yanno, keep living in that house till the end.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
engcoach 3y ago
> Basically people see others with "more" than them and it makes them unhappy. If they never saw that, they could be happy Maybe. Or they’d be unhappy about something else (genetics or physicality). Being happy is a choice.
- globular-toast 3y ago
  > Being happy is a choice. I suppose you are thinking of a philosophy like Stoicism? I have read a fair bit but wonder how it deals with cases where other people are incentivised to make you unhappy. That's basically what marketing/advertising is. They thrive on making you want something by whatever means e.g. lying, addiction etc.