Chuck Harris wrote:

John Larkin wrote:



Income tax makes no sense. There should be only one tax, on
consumption, and it should be fully visible, as sales taxes are in the
US, not hidden like VAT.

John

Agreed, but the last thing the government would want is for you to be
constantly reminded of how far they have their hand into your pocket.

Imagine that instead of the 5 to 7% that most of us pay in state sales/use
tax that it was, say, 29% I think that might be a bit of a shocker.

Also, taxes on consumption are by nature highly regressive. The poor
by pay a greater proportion of their income to buy consumables (like food,
clothes, transportation and shelter) than do the rich.... I'm not saying
that is necessarily a bad thing... but I think it would cause a
revolution.

-Chuck

What about tax sales at a somewhat higher rate than you were thinking of,
then give every citizen an equal sized lump sum every month, that is going
to be proportionately more for lower earners so will un-regresive it, or
instead, maybe not a lump sum but free health care or something...

I don't like taxes on services, it encourages the "throw-away society" where
the tax means it isn't worth fixing anything so there are no repair shops
with technicians who know how to fix things, just shops selling new crap
with knowledgeless sales droids, and it isn't worth knowing how to fix
anything so nobody bothers learning.