<<<<
Keith, maybe we can apply some maths to reach a truly fair, and progressive tax system.
>>>>
A "progressive" tax system? Surely, you're joking! What a progressive tax system does is to encourage tax evasion by the rich and to strip dignity from the poor. No sensible rich person in England pays more tax than, say, the average middle-class person; no employable poor person in England in receipt of government credits will take a job because, in practice, anything extra he earns will be taxed at 100%.
If you want a sensible tax system that everybody -- and I mean *everybody* -- doesn't mind paying (in principle), then you have to tap into the same instinct of status-flaunting that motivates consumer spending. In England, everybody tries to pay as little Income Tax as possible but the middle-class are proud of paying their Council Tax because this is based on the value of their house, and thus they get great pleasure in talking about it whenever possible. Similarly, Mormons are honest about paying tithes to their church and are not reticent in telling you how much (at least, this is what I have been told by some Mormon missionaries whom I invited in for a glass of water).
Keith Hudson Keith Hudson, 6 Upper Camden Place, Bath, England
_______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
