Discussion: Arrival and taxation

Damn... I just found out that Mozilla doesn't take well to Blogger, so I lost my text. I'll try to recap briefly.

First of all, my apologies for the late arrival! Thanks to Barry for the reminder to log my ass in. Joe, I think the Diamond article sounds quite interesting. I'll plan to give it a read before the Boyz Weekend.

Regarding taxation, why not simply use a flat percentage tax? This naturally takes a bigger bite out of the wealthy (amount wise) and seems likely to be perceived as fair by everyone. Furthermore, it is (in theory) much easier to implement and presumably lest costly to implement by the government. My concern with more complicated tax schemes is that they get bogged down in bureaucracy, especially when some jackass legislator slips in a few extra rules for his homies. Honestly, would there be this tremendous need for accountants, lawyers, tax software, etc, with a flat tax? I realize there are still issues in determining what is income, but this seems minor in comparison. I am no tax expert, so feel free to enlighten me on this.

Next, I am in favor of a consumption tax in certain circumstances. In particular, I think they need to be used in health care. Consumption taxes, eg. tobacco, can be very effective in reducing the use of harmful substances. As such, it can be an excellent preventive health measure. Furthermore, the income generated from such income can be used in the health care necessary due to the use of such substances. Unfortunately, such taxes are not directly tied to health care funding at the moment.

Peace out