SamRE: https://mstdn.social/@lowqualityfacts/116146508598644391
...but corporate socialism—bailing out banks, refusing to tax corporations, and giving our money to big pharma and the oil industry—that's all fine.
Grace Bennett@Sam35 I think it's personal taxes that should be abolished, not corporate taxes
@Grace_Ben Not a bad idea, but we at least need gradual scale, current system is untenable
@Sam35 If personal income tax were abolished and purchasing power were returned directly to ordinary people, a surge in consumption could in turn feed back into corporate profits, and at that point, taxing companies would become a natural step. Do you think this kind of “wealth stored among the people” cycle would be more effective than the current model of “subsidising large corporations” in addressing what you described as corporate socialism?
@Grace_Ben I like this in theory, Grace, and if it works the way your prescribing, I'd be for it. But isn't the problem that if you are wealthy enough to avoid paying taxes, you already know how to "shift" between individual and corporate filings to your utmost benefit, not to mention using tax havens for both entities? So isn't just taxing wealth overall—and by that I would mean for revenue like capital gains and stock conversions, too—the best way to achieve some sane, level playing field?
@Sam35 Wealthy individuals often have more resources and means to take advantage of tax incentives and loopholes, which is particularly evident in the wealthier segments of society, resulting in their actual tax burden being much lower than that of ordinary people. By taxing wealth, it could theoretically reduce the ability of the wealthy to evade taxes through such avoidance methods, leading to a more equitable distribution of the tax burden
@Sam35 However, I’m also considering some of the practical challenges in implementing a wealth tax. For example, how do we define and assess “wealth”? For highly liquid assets, such as stocks or cryptocurrencies, how can they be regularly evaluated and taxed? Additionally, would a wealth tax lead to capital flight, especially for wealthy individuals or companies operating internationally?
@Sam35 Of course, this doesn’t mean that a wealth tax is unfeasible, but designing a fair and workable wealth tax system would likely require careful thought and balancing. What are your thoughts on these challenges?
@Grace_Ben I'm no tax expert, so I'd say just copy some of what we already did, e.g., in the 1950s and 1960s.
@Sam35 This world is inherently unfair in terms of wealth, and there will never be any fairness. By the way, are you from the United States?
@Grace_Ben Yes, I live in Colorado. How about you?