Comment by munk-a
6 days ago
Consumption taxes are almost always regressive and improperly place the majority of the tax burden on the poor - they're good to have (especially the sin taxes and tax discounts on specific encouraged behaviors) but they should be coupled with taxes on wealth (aka property) and income. And these taxes should be somewhat complex - just not to the extent we have today.
> they should be coupled with taxes on wealth (aka property) and income
Why?
Because wealth is destructive to democracy. Anything destructive to democracy should be difficult to reify.
To better spread the tax burden. In an idealized system taxes would be levied in such a manner where a good contribution of labor allowed a more comfortable lifestyle that scaled with diminishing returns. All people should be guaranteed a baseline of comfort and additional economic productivity would offer access to additional luxuries at a gradual rate. That kind of level of micromanagement is only do-able in a command economy which is terrible for a bunch of reasons I won't go into but our tax system should work to ensure that the poorest of us have access to a baseline of benefits at the expense of the richest. Wealth and income should be taxed since income is the most direct expression of productivity and wealth is an accumulation of unspent excess. I don't mean to lean too hard into utilitarianism because it got culty and BS over time but there is a diminishing return to luxuries and we can ensure more joy in society by trying to even the distribution of services.
So, in your opinion, people have a right the the results of someone else's labor?