Tax is a libertarian issue. If the State taxes citizens according to the quality of their homes, then logically it must be able to enter those homes. If it taxes them on using a TV, then it must be able to check if they have a TV. If it taxes them on what they earn, it must be able to check if they are lying about their income.
The more taxes there are, the less liberty there is. Simple taxes are not just a good idea because they allow people to save time and money on interacting with the Government. They are not just a good idea because they allow creativity to be diverted from tax avoidance to production. They are not just a good idea because they reduce the number of Government employees and therefore reduce taxes overall. They are also a good idea because they reduce the need for the State to interfere in our lives.
If all taxes were assessed on spending, for example, they would be broadly progressive (the wealthier you are, the more you spend); they would encourage saving and investment; they would require very little enforcement (because retailers would collect them at point of sale) and they would require no intrusion into privacy. The Government would not need to know how (or even where) you live, or how much you earn.
Every day, laws are introduced on the assumption that the State is more trustworthy than its citizens. There is nothing in human history to support that idea. Why are we so naieve?
Telegraph | News | Taxman to snoop in your home
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
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4 comments:
Have you heard about the nefarious pressure-group called "Tax Justice Network"? Have a look at their website www.taxjustice.net.
The state could find no finer friends.
I looked. My God, it's horrific. They don't even distinguish between evasion and avoidance! It must be some kind of front for the world's finance ministers. Surely there are no actual citizens so keen to revive the Soviet Union?
That's the worrying thing -- with such willing persons, half the work of the totalitarians is done!
That's the worrying thing -- that with such willing persons, half the work of the totalitarians is done!
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