Which type of tax would you prefer?

[Greed and Death]

So fuel tax accounts for half of the roads.
Seems like doubling the fuel tax would supply all the roads we need.
It seems very easily within reach to make the road system pay for itself with fuel tax and tolls. Even with some 16% going to mass transit programs.

Why are you advocating a raise in taxes? I thought you were a libertarian.

Currently, the gasoline excise tax stands at 18.4%.

Your plan is to raise the gasoline tax (and a whole range of other taxes) to twice that amount. This would make it that much more expensive to operate any business that uses gasoline, i.e. the vast majority of them. This cost will be passed on to consumers. So, not only are you paying about 20% more at the pump, but you're also doing that at the grocery store, the mall, the hospital, the drugstore, etc. Please note that this cost would be shouldered by everyone. Not merely those who drive.

Do you honestly believe that reducing every US citizen's purchasing power by almost 20% is a good idea for the economy?

If it means cutting the income tax.
You sure bet I am for raising gas tax.
Consumption tax especially when it is tied to what is being used is fine.

[Gift-of-god]

If it means cutting the income tax.
You sure bet I am for raising gas tax.
Consumption tax especially when it is tied to what is being used is fine.

Since income tax represents an insignificant amount of highway financing, your measure wouldn't reduce income tax in any appreciable manner.

[Greed and Death]

If it means cutting the income tax.
You sure bet I am for raising gas tax.
Consumption tax especially when it is tied to what is being used is fine.

Since income tax represents an insignificant amount of highway financing, your measure wouldn't reduce income tax in any appreciable manner.

Well as we head on down the road we shall also chop up the military and the department of education.

[Gift-of-god]

Well as we head on down the road we shall also chop up the military and the department of education.

That does not change the fact that road user fees do not pay for the maintance of the roads, as was my original point.

While it may be possible to abolish income tax through massive cuts in military and educational spending, this is irrelevant to the problem of paying for roads.

[Seleucas]

No tax would be best. If we had to have some kind of tax, I suppose a poll tax where you have to pay to vote would be the next best thing. If you want your politician so badly, you should have to pay for what he does, not everybody else. After that, a poll tax on everyone regardless of whether or not you vote would probably be the least damaging, and technically it is a regressive tax.

[Tekania]

Aggressive regardless, I'm Middle-Class atm.

[Glorious Freedonia]

Flat taxes are the only way to fairly tax people.

[EvilDarkMagicians]

Flat taxes are the only way to fairly tax people.

No it isn't.

[Dazchan]

Flat taxes are the only way to fairly tax people.

Quite the opposite, in fact. Taking 25% of $15,000 hurts a lot more than taking 15% of $50,000.

[Andaluciae]

Personally...I like consumption taxes and Pigovian taxes.

Consumption taxes have reduced economic distortionary effects--so, whereas income taxes decrease people's incentives to engage in income seeking behavior (working, investing) and thus reduce overall economic output, consumption taxes reduces people's willingness to spend, while inducing incentives for greater income seeking behaviors. Specifically, I like a Value Added Tax because it's hard to cheat, it's simple to administer and the costs are visible to consumers.

I also like Pigovian taxes, although they should be applied sparingly, intelligently and strategically. By increasing the private costs to increase the overall social costs of some sort of activity, then you create a more efficient allocation, and limit the negative activity.



There are, certainly virtues to progressive income taxation--but the distortions that result are pretty fucking real and without complex tax rebate structures tend to serve as a disincentive to work on the open market for lower income individuals.

[United Marktoria]

i'm glad the op explained their terms, because i otherwise would have thought "type" of tax would refer to:
income, sales, capital gains, value added, property, usage and licensing fees, and whatever else, that sort of thing.

This is what I was thinking.

[Seleucas]

Personally...I like consumption taxes and Pigovian taxes.

Consumption taxes have reduced economic distortionary effects--so, whereas income taxes decrease people's incentives to engage in income seeking behavior (working, investing) and thus reduce overall economic output, consumption taxes reduces people's willingness to spend, while inducing incentives for greater income seeking behaviors. Specifically, I like a Value Added Tax because it's hard to cheat, it's simple to administer and the costs are visible to consumers.

I also like Pigovian taxes, although they should be applied sparingly, intelligently and strategically. By increasing the private costs to increase the overall social costs of some sort of activity, then you create a more efficient allocation, and limit the negative activity.



There are, certainly virtues to progressive income taxation--but the distortions that result are pretty fucking real and without complex tax rebate structures tend to serve as a disincentive to work on the open market for lower income individuals.

Both a sales tax and an income tax would reduce people's incentives to engage in income-seeking behavior: people would take out money from their saving activities to cover the cost of now more expensive goods in addition to consuming less actual goods (for instance, if I paid $500 for goods beforehand, and now there is a 10% sales tax, I could simply pay this extra $50 out of my savings, or have a mix between fewer actual goods and less saving, such as only buying $475 in actual goods and pay the extra $22.5 out of savings. After all, with the marginal utility of actual goods and services rising because of having fewer goods and services, saving becomes relatively less attractive with each unit cut back.) Also, more expensive goods could be a disincentive to work, since for working the same amount you would get less, and thereby working would become relatively less valuable.

In the end, no matter how you tax, you're going to screw something up.

[Unilisia]

There are three types of tax for those who don't know:

Agressive (Progressive) Tax:
This tax means that the poor give less and the rich give more. Most nations see it as fair and so it is used in most nations today.

Flat Tax:
This is the type of tax that everyone pays an equal percentage of tax. Some capitalists say this is fair and so some nations have no income tax, which is just as good as saying that they have a flat tax.

Regressive Tax:
This tax means that the rich pay less and the poor pay more. I mean, which type of poor and middle class person would ever vote for this?

That is all. Please post.

No taxes at all, I'm leaving the US as soon as I finish college.

[EvilDarkMagicians]

There are three types of tax for those who don't know:

Agressive (Progressive) Tax:
This tax means that the poor give less and the rich give more. Most nations see it as fair and so it is used in most nations today.

Flat Tax:
This is the type of tax that everyone pays an equal percentage of tax. Some capitalists say this is fair and so some nations have no income tax, which is just as good as saying that they have a flat tax.

Regressive Tax:
This tax means that the rich pay less and the poor pay more. I mean, which type of poor and middle class person would ever vote for this?

That is all. Please post.

No taxes at all, I'm leaving the US as soon as I finish college.

To which no-tax country will you be planning to move too?

[Seleucas]

There are three types of tax for those who don't know:

Agressive (Progressive) Tax:
This tax means that the poor give less and the rich give more. Most nations see it as fair and so it is used in most nations today.

Flat Tax:
This is the type of tax that everyone pays an equal percentage of tax. Some capitalists say this is fair and so some nations have no income tax, which is just as good as saying that they have a flat tax.

Regressive Tax:
This tax means that the rich pay less and the poor pay more. I mean, which type of poor and middle class person would ever vote for this?

That is all. Please post.

No taxes at all, I'm leaving the US as soon as I finish college.

If you manage to find a tax-free country, please tell me. I'd go there too.

[The Adrian Empire]

The Best Tax is not an income tax, consumption if there must be a tax at all does the least overall damage and is free of implications like income (your labour isn't your own), or property/land (you are just renting the land), it is the only real form of non-coercive tax, purchases being a voluntary decision. A VAT is also slightly better then income, despite nasty effects on prices.

[Saurisia]

Just a run-of-the mill tax, no taxes on the money I earn or the money I inherit, as that's Government thievery.

[Right-Wing-Extremists]

Flat tax is the only rational tax. The others are stupid.

[The Adrian Empire]

There are three types of tax for those who don't know:

Agressive (Progressive) Tax:
This tax means that the poor give less and the rich give more. Most nations see it as fair and so it is used in most nations today.

Flat Tax:
This is the type of tax that everyone pays an equal percentage of tax. Some capitalists say this is fair and so some nations have no income tax, which is just as good as saying that they have a flat tax.

Regressive Tax:
This tax means that the rich pay less and the poor pay more. I mean, which type of poor and middle class person would ever vote for this?

That is all. Please post.

No taxes at all, I'm leaving the US as soon as I finish college.

If you manage to find a tax-free country, please tell me. I'd go there too.

They need to make one by jove! Who says we all pool are resources, buy Crete off the greeks and set up our own European Tax Haven! Corporate Funding will get the basic work done, then we can work out some sort of alternative there.

[Auremena]

Aggressive, of course. It's more equal, so it's better.

[EvilDarkMagicians]

There are three types of tax for those who don't know:

Agressive (Progressive) Tax:
This tax means that the poor give less and the rich give more. Most nations see it as fair and so it is used in most nations today.

Flat Tax:
This is the type of tax that everyone pays an equal percentage of tax. Some capitalists say this is fair and so some nations have no income tax, which is just as good as saying that they have a flat tax.

Regressive Tax:
This tax means that the rich pay less and the poor pay more. I mean, which type of poor and middle class person would ever vote for this?

That is all. Please post.

No taxes at all, I'm leaving the US as soon as I finish college.

If you manage to find a tax-free country, please tell me. I'd go there too.

Dubai?

[The Adrian Empire]

There are three types of tax for those who don't know:

Agressive (Progressive) Tax:
This tax means that the poor give less and the rich give more. Most nations see it as fair and so it is used in most nations today.

Flat Tax:
This is the type of tax that everyone pays an equal percentage of tax. Some capitalists say this is fair and so some nations have no income tax, which is just as good as saying that they have a flat tax.

Regressive Tax:
This tax means that the rich pay less and the poor pay more. I mean, which type of poor and middle class person would ever vote for this?

That is all. Please post.

No taxes at all, I'm leaving the US as soon as I finish college.

If you manage to find a tax-free country, please tell me. I'd go there too.

Dubai?

Really?
*starts brushing up on his Arabic...

[Kreanoltha]

Flat Tax, I am middle class.

[Auremena]

There are three types of tax for those who don't know:

Agressive (Progressive) Tax:
This tax means that the poor give less and the rich give more. Most nations see it as fair and so it is used in most nations today.

Flat Tax:
This is the type of tax that everyone pays an equal percentage of tax. Some capitalists say this is fair and so some nations have no income tax, which is just as good as saying that they have a flat tax.

Regressive Tax:
This tax means that the rich pay less and the poor pay more. I mean, which type of poor and middle class person would ever vote for this?

That is all. Please post.

No taxes at all, I'm leaving the US as soon as I finish college.

If you manage to find a tax-free country, please tell me. I'd go there too.

Dubai?

Really?
*starts brushing up on his Arabic...

No, just practically. They speak good English there too.

[Kreanoltha]

Aggressive, of course. It's more equal, so it's better.

How the hell is it equal? Why should you pay less if you lake less? A tax is the charge for having a government, and prices shouldn't change just because you make a different amount.