MostlyHarmless
Martin Bodlák 💙💛@MostlyHarmless at some moment, there was a (rather theoretical) discussion about completely replacing income tax with only VAT… I wonder if it would work IRL
Display Name@babaq @MostlyHarmless
That's taxing expenditure instead of income. Rich people don't even spend money. They borrow. So they keep accumulating stock. They spend so little of their income compared to low income people spending almost all. That's every rich asshole's dream.
That's taxing expenditure instead of income. Rich people don't even spend money. They borrow. So they keep accumulating stock. They spend so little of their income compared to low income people spending almost all. That's every rich asshole's dream.
Birk@alper @babaq @MostlyHarmless you still pay VAT on what you pay with loaned money righr? I believe using loans is mostly to get around income tax.
@birkenator @babaq @MostlyHarmless
That's not the part that matters most. (They borrow to avoid income). That lower income people spend all their income to make it through the month. Rich people spend a fraction of their income. If you can't tax them for the money they make they'll sit on more and more money.
That's not the part that matters most. (They borrow to avoid income). That lower income people spend all their income to make it through the month. Rich people spend a fraction of their income. If you can't tax them for the money they make they'll sit on more and more money.
@alper I am not proposing to have *only* VAT – I suppose that some kind of revamped wealth tax is also necessary
@birkenator @MostlyHarmless
@birkenator @MostlyHarmless
@babaq @alper @MostlyHarmless it’s a pipe dream though.
Most western systems are all about keeping the lower classes occupied and uninformed while the higher classes make the real policy.
The key word is occupied - enough income for food and the occasional new car, but not enough to do damage.
That system is hard to change. In some places politics are almost Chinese, but rich people are hand picking politicians instead of an aligned committee.
@babaq @birkenator @MostlyHarmless
We don't even need that. Just proper income tax and closing the loopholes created over decades over assets will be enough, mostly. But the problem snowballed into them beginning to want everything, including their own fiefdom. So they became rich enough to think they can act like little feudal lords that deserve their sovereign lands to rule. Historically the only cure seems to be guillotine.
We don't even need that. Just proper income tax and closing the loopholes created over decades over assets will be enough, mostly. But the problem snowballed into them beginning to want everything, including their own fiefdom. So they became rich enough to think they can act like little feudal lords that deserve their sovereign lands to rule. Historically the only cure seems to be guillotine.