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Every time I argue against taxes on HN I'm told that my view is wrong and that if we try it just one more time it'll definitely work this time.

by exabrial 10mo ago

jcmfernandes 10mo ago
It worked in the past.
- TheOtherHobbes 10mo ago
  It didn't. Or rather it did, but not for the obvious reasons. Taxes are not required for spending. Spending isn't required for spending, because ultimately government money is a proxy for power differentials and collective strategy. Money defines which behaviours and which demographics are rewarded, and which are starved and punished. There are numbers and flow dynamics, but it's primarily a social credit system, not a substance. Taxes are really a way to control the relative power of some groups over others - a form of regulation. So when you have events like the New Deal and high taxes on the super rich, that means the economy is tuned towards diminishing power differentials, expanding infrastructure, and access to opportunity. Low taxes on the super rich means expanding power differentials, more rigid hierarchy, diminishing collective infrastructure, and decreasing access to opportunity. Likewise with provision of public services. If healthcare is cheap, guaranteed, and widely distributed, that increases individual agency and diminishes hierarchy. If it's expensive and rationed by/for corporate monopolies, it increases hierarchy and diminishes agency.
jjice 10mo ago
What is your view on taxes?
thephyber 10mo ago
Which country doesn’t tax their companies or people? Whether it be tariffs, income taxes, sales taxes, VAT, property taxes, minerals taxes, etc., all countries tax. Taxes are a necessary evil for society and order. The USA tried to have zero ability to tax the states/people and that only lasted about 10 years before that national government failed and they tried another constitution with more national government powers. You aren’t arguing “against taxes”, you just have a different opinion on the taxation regime and the coefficients. The sooner you recognize that, the faster your discussions with other humans might actually yield productive results.
- spwa4 10mo ago
  The UAE. (which is why many of EU's rich are domiciled there, which also means they're not counted in the EU's GINI coefficient. Almost no US citizens do the same, because of how the tax system works)
  - secretsatan 10mo ago
    That’s your model country?
  - ares623 10mo ago
    Hard to take you seriously unless the EU rich domiciled there, stayed there permanently, and didn't get the benefits of their home EU countries, benefits that come from taxes they do not pay into.
    - spwa4 10mo ago
      Wait, what? This is about company executives and high-paid consultants who essentially stayed in Dubai just enough to be tax-domiciled there. Or even just their companies with just a mailbox at a lawyer office in Dubai. No, the EU rich very much physically stayed inside the EU, fully enjoying the benefits of those countries without paying tax. Doesn't work for US citizens because global income is taxed in the US.
  - landosaari 10mo ago
    The UAE has a CT (corporate tax) of 9% since 2023 [0, page 8] This provides an overview [1] For 2026 "The UAE's tax system is getting stricter. Not in rates. In enforcement." [2] [0] https://mof.gov.ae/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Federal-Decree-Law-No.-47-of-2022-and-its-amendments.pdf https://mof.gov.ae/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Federal-Decree... [1] https://mof.gov.ae/en/public-finance/tax/corporate-tax/ https://mof.gov.ae/en/public-finance/tax/corporate-tax/ [2] https://www.kayrouzandassociates.com/insights/uae-tax-changes-2026-corporate-vat-fta-amendments https://www.kayrouzandassociates.com/insights/uae-tax-change...
lokar 10mo ago
How would at tax on HN even work? Does it have revenue?
whatever1 10mo ago
Apart from the market (obviously), the companies also enjoy infrastructure, resources (mostly finite) and they also produce byproducts that the society has to deal with (pollution, addiction of population etc). So who pays for these? What you are suggesting is government subsidies of companies. This sounds like communism to me.
machinationu 10mo ago
do you have your own private army to protect you in a taxless world?

Every time I argue against taxes on HN I'm told that my view is wrong and that if we try it just one more time it'll definitely work this time.

jcmfernandes 10mo ago

It worked in the past.

TheOtherHobbes 10mo ago
It didn't. Or rather it did, but not for the obvious reasons. Taxes are not required for spending. Spending isn't required for spending, because ultimately government money is a proxy for power differentials and collective strategy. Money defines which behaviours and which demographics are rewarded, and which are starved and punished. There are numbers and flow dynamics, but it's primarily a social credit system, not a substance. Taxes are really a way to control the relative power of some groups over others - a form of regulation. So when you have events like the New Deal and high taxes on the super rich, that means the economy is tuned towards diminishing power differentials, expanding infrastructure, and access to opportunity. Low taxes on the super rich means expanding power differentials, more rigid hierarchy, diminishing collective infrastructure, and decreasing access to opportunity. Likewise with provision of public services. If healthcare is cheap, guaranteed, and widely distributed, that increases individual agency and diminishes hierarchy. If it's expensive and rationed by/for corporate monopolies, it increases hierarchy and diminishes agency.

jjice 10mo ago

What is your view on taxes?

thephyber 10mo ago

Which country doesn’t tax their companies or people? Whether it be tariffs, income taxes, sales taxes, VAT, property taxes, minerals taxes, etc., all countries tax. Taxes are a necessary evil for society and order. The USA tried to have zero ability to tax the states/people and that only lasted about 10 years before that national government failed and they tried another constitution with more national government powers. You aren’t arguing “against taxes”, you just have a different opinion on the taxation regime and the coefficients. The sooner you recognize that, the faster your discussions with other humans might actually yield productive results.

spwa4 10mo ago
The UAE. (which is why many of EU's rich are domiciled there, which also means they're not counted in the EU's GINI coefficient. Almost no US citizens do the same, because of how the tax system works)
- secretsatan 10mo ago
  That’s your model country?
- ares623 10mo ago
  Hard to take you seriously unless the EU rich domiciled there, stayed there permanently, and didn't get the benefits of their home EU countries, benefits that come from taxes they do not pay into.
  - spwa4 10mo ago
    Wait, what? This is about company executives and high-paid consultants who essentially stayed in Dubai just enough to be tax-domiciled there. Or even just their companies with just a mailbox at a lawyer office in Dubai. No, the EU rich very much physically stayed inside the EU, fully enjoying the benefits of those countries without paying tax. Doesn't work for US citizens because global income is taxed in the US.
- landosaari 10mo ago
  The UAE has a CT (corporate tax) of 9% since 2023 [0, page 8] This provides an overview [1] For 2026 "The UAE's tax system is getting stricter. Not in rates. In enforcement." [2] [0] https://mof.gov.ae/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Federal-Decree-Law-No.-47-of-2022-and-its-amendments.pdf https://mof.gov.ae/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Federal-Decree... [1] https://mof.gov.ae/en/public-finance/tax/corporate-tax/ https://mof.gov.ae/en/public-finance/tax/corporate-tax/ [2] https://www.kayrouzandassociates.com/insights/uae-tax-changes-2026-corporate-vat-fta-amendments https://www.kayrouzandassociates.com/insights/uae-tax-change...

lokar 10mo ago

How would at tax on HN even work? Does it have revenue?

whatever1 10mo ago

Apart from the market (obviously), the companies also enjoy infrastructure, resources (mostly finite) and they also produce byproducts that the society has to deal with (pollution, addiction of population etc). So who pays for these? What you are suggesting is government subsidies of companies. This sounds like communism to me.

machinationu 10mo ago

do you have your own private army to protect you in a taxless world?