Saturday, January 12, 2008

Social Progress and the Tax System

I’m for a progressive income tax: Those who have more ought to pay more - not just in terms of absolute dollars paid, but in terms of percentage of income.

More progressive taxes makes for less of a gap in income between rich and poor, resulting in more social stability.

An asset tax also seems like a good idea. One proposal I’ve come across: A 15% tax on personal assets over 2 million dollars (with certain exemptions for things like farms and small businesses) would erase not just the current-year deficit, but the entire national debt in a single year. This (at least, this rate) would be unsustainable over the long term, but is an attractive way to quickly rebalance the relative positions of rich and poor, and also erase one of the largest drains on the federal budget, interest on the national debt.

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