Retracting further: progressive taxes are not evil in themselves

From: Jeff Bone (jbone@jump.net)
Date: Thu Mar 29 2001 - 14:27:15 PST


My railing about how the current system / progressive taxes are
injurious to the upwardly mobile was pretty lame in construction,
mostly because I've just been pissed about my own tax process I've
been going through. It's not really the progressive nature of the tax
(by literal definition of progressive) that's injurious, it's a
function of the fact that it's an income tax and the fact that it's
avoidable via loopholes once earnings exceed burn by some margin.

Here's a much better argument, also from
http://www.fairtax.org/issues/fairness.shtml

     The Income Tax Disproportionately Injures the Upwardly
     Mobile

     The income tax is unfair because it taxes the principal
     means by which Americans can improve the standard of living
     for themselves and for their children. The income tax is
     biased against those who are seeking to improve their
     families' lot in life through savings, investment, and hard
     work, while it favors those with assets to consume.

     The FairTax would improve the standard of living of the vast
     majority of Americans by rewarding an individual's decision
     to work, save and invest. Under current law, however,
     consumption of goods and services is favored over savings
     and investment. A taxpayer often enjoys no immediate benefit
     from savings and investing, and the fact that the taxpayer
     has already been taxed on his or her income means that there
     is also no incentive not to consume. The income tax system
     rewards the here and now, and penalizes taxpayers who seek
     to save for the future by taxing income when it is earned
     and grows. Under the FairTax, those who benefit from tax
     sheltered income or those who profit handsomely from the
     complexities and confusion of the tax system would no longer
     benefit from advantages which are not available to most
     taxpayers.

     The FairTax would additionally benefit lower income families
     through increased economic growth. Slow economic growth or
     recessions have a disproportionately adverse impact on the
     poor. Breadwinners in these families are more likely to lose
     their jobs, are less likely to have the resources to weather
     bad economic times and are more in need of the initial
     employment opportunities that a dynamic, growing economy
     provides. The FairTax would dramatically improve economic
     growth and improve wage rates, while retaining the present
     tax system would needlessly delay economic progress.

jb



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