I think that is true, but only if there *is* inflation. So, when Danny said 10% inflation, I believe he was thinking about it in a system where there is no income tax (he said he prefers such a system).
Naturally, I don't prefer such a system. I think the idea of preferring one type of theft to another is mistaken. It is a bit like saying that one would rather one's virgin daughter be gang-raped by Yale graduates rather than Bronx high school drop outs.
Some might say that the gruesome imagery just evoked is provocative and wrong. I think a tax of 10%, be it inflation or income tax, is provocative and wrong, and far more gruesome in its consequences.
they are doing well since it was introduced.
That's nice. It is always somewhat refreshing when the thieves take less. I think the Reagan tax cut was a nice thing, compared to the earlier rates.
As you point out, the average american pays 50% taxes.
I think Americans pay a lot of taxes. I'm not sure it is 50% on average. Not that it matters. Theft is still theft, even if it is a tenth of a percent.
Do you think that a system with no inflation and with a flat 5 - 10% income tax (for everybody, person or company) is also theft?
Yes, of course. Let's take that in two pieces. First, a system with no inflation.
I don't know of any such system. Over the thousands of years that gold has been money, about 2% more gold has been brought up from mines and put into circulation, on average every year. More money chasing comparable goods and services would be inflationary. I do think that population growth and productivity enhancements are deflationary - placing more goods and services into the market. I question whether the two forces would ever be perfectly in balance.
And, I am unconcerned. Separating the issue power of money from government is a good thing. Free market money may include some inflation, some deflation, and other effects. It would be better than fiat money.
A flat tax is still theft. The argument that it is better because everyone pays it is silly. Everyone does not pay it. Productive people pay it. Those who are not productive don't. Those without income don't. And there is nothing about a tax paid by everyone which excludes it from theft. Taxation is theft.
A truly flat tax would be a flat fee. A percentage of income is a "progressive" tax. It means that more total taxes are paid by the most productive, and less total taxes are paid by the least productive. Such an arrangement penalizes the productive for their ability to produce wealth. Inevitably, it rewards those who are less productive or unable to produce, because these types are the ones who go into government work, or are paid by the government to remain indigent.
To understand what is meant by a progressive tax, you should look up the history of the progressive movement. Income tax was their idea. It was a bad idea.
I have in mind that there is no other type of tax, like: VAT, property tax, welth tax... whatever.
I think it is good to envision a system where all these other taxes are gone. I'm pleased that you see some value in thinking of a system where most taxes are gone. Now take the next logical step.
If that system is best which taxes least, the inevitable conclusion is: that system is best which taxes not at all.
Obviously, I am thinking that the income tax is used for what the country needs
But, again, that's silly. Why steal from people to provide them what they need? Why not let people keep their own money and provide for their own needs?
Who produces these needful things if there are taxes? Individuals produce needful things. Companies and enterprises produce needful things. What if there were no taxes? Would all needful things cease to be produced? Of course not.
Take "public transportation" for an example. Who builds the highways? Private contractors paid with tax dollars, generally by a corrupt contract allocation process. Are they suddenly unable to build highways when the government has no tax dollars? On the contrary, they build more and better roads when they are doing so in the free market.
What about "light rail" and bus systems? Wouldn't these disappear in a free market? Maybe they would. Perhaps mass transit systems aren't worth having, and shouldn't be subsidized at great expense. Yet, we see that jitney vans operate in most major cities, without taxi licenses and without tax subsidies in many cases. People do organize their affairs to provide transportation to those without cars because their is money to be made doing so.
(even if you would say you or anyone else don't know what the country needs).
Actually, I would say that everyone knows what the country needs. The country needs to eliminate all forms of theft, all forms of slavery, all forms of initiatory force. These are obvious needs. Taxation is a form of theft, it is tantamount to slavery, and it is always enforced with initiatory force.
What you may be thinking I would say is something along the lines of: the government does not know what the country needs, and so it wastes tax dollars by spending on things that aren't needed, while preventing people from having their own wealth to spend on things they do need. Central planning doesn't work. It has never worked. One would think the fall of the Soviet Union would have been sufficiently recent to teach this lesson for a few generations.
Does this kind of system seem fair to you (or anybody else who wants to answer)?
I see that you've opened up quite a big can of sunshine, with lots of respondents.
If you were to drive down a street in your neighborhood and a man were to throw down a barricade, stopping your car, and you were suddenly surrounded by men who demanded 5% or 10% of everything of value you had on you, what would you call that? Would that be fair?
Would it become fair if everyone in your community were subjected to the same rigors? If everyone were leaping off a cliff, would you leap off the cliff?
I don't think the system you are proposing is worse than many other systems. But, that doesn't make it fair. It doesn't make theft moral.
Regards,
Jim http://www.ezez.com/
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