The Marriage Tax Penalty

Just in time for “Tax Day,” we have a posting on . . . taxation!  How original!  Today we are taking on the so-called “marriage penalty” that kicks in when people get hitched, specifically, what has been going on in Switzerland.  It hasn’t been getting a lot of (or any) play on this side of the pond, but the Swiss are “equalizing” what people have become accustomed to calling “genders.”

How to Get Out of (National) Debt

The U.S. National Debt is now climbing upwards of $39 trillion . . . although it’s not impossible to find some experts who claim the figure is more like $100 trillion due to unbooked estimates for Social Security and Medicare.  Of course, whether we’re talking $39 trillion or $100 trillion — yes, that’s trillion — it’s in the realm of the surreal, not the real.  That’s a lot of money.

Egocentrism, Tariffs, and the Single Tax, Part IV

Concluding our discussion of tariffs, as we noted previously there are three badly flawed economic principles which many people hold as absolute, unquestioned dogmas.  Two of these flawed principles are general, but applied specifically in the third, regarding tariffs, which we looked at last week.  The principles are:

Egocentrism, Tariffs, and the Single Tax, Part III

As we noted in the first posting on this subject, there are three badly flawed economic principles which many people hold as absolute, unquestioned dogmas handed down from . . . well, it’s not entirely clear where they come from.  In any event, that’s not important when one’s own ego and self-interest are the only fixed points in the universe.

Egocentrism, Tariffs, and the Single Tax, Part I

Understanding certain of today’s trade policies, while difficult, even baffling at times, is nevertheless possible once one identifies some basic assumptions and ascertains a possible approach to life.  Although he didn’t write it, The Art of the Deal (1987) under President Trump’s name exemplifies an orientation which appears widespread today, as do some of his otherwise incomprehensible actions, possibly accounting for his popularity.

A Discourse on Tariffs

 Although tariffs are in the news today, it’s astonishing how many people don’t know what they are or how they work.  Briefly, a tariff is a tax a government levies on imports.  It is not paid by the people of the country exporting goods, but by the people of the country importing the goods.  A tariff is intended to raise — “inflate” — the prices of foreign goods for the presumed advantage of producers in the country which imposes the tariff; it “protects” domestic industry by artificially making foreign goods more expensive.

A Rational Approach to Taxation, Part II

In the previous posting on this subject, we noted that by and large the tax systems in place throughout the world are employed as means of social control and justifying Keynesian economics instead of their sole justified use as the sole legitimate source of revenue for government.  Interestingly, both Adam Smith and Pope Leo XIII — usually assumed to be at odds on everything — agreed that for taxation to be just, it must adhere to what Smith called the four canons of taxation:

A Rational Approach to Taxation, Part I

Reportedly, vice presidential candidate Tim Walz “created ‘the most progressive tax system in the country’ for Minnesota.”  Pundits believe this will help Kamala Harris in her tax proposals.  It will probably do that . . . but are Harris’s tax proposals what is needed?  Come to think of it, are Trump’s tax proposals any better?

Just Third Way Tax Reforms

 As the saying goes, nothing is inevitable but death and taxes, and hopefully not in that order.  That being the case, how should taxation (for we don’t claim any power over death) be made as fair and just as possible?  We have some suggestions, consistent with the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism.

Five Levers of Change: Tax Policy

Today’s blog posting is adapted from the book, Economic Personalism, which you can get free from the CESJ website, or from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

 

In 1891, Pope Leo XIII declared that “Many excellent results will follow” from expanding ownership to as many people as possible (Rerum Novarum, § 47). As he said,

Let’s Talk About Consumption Taxes

Especially this time of year it’s common to hear proposals about how to eliminate the Internal Revenue Service and institute a simpler, kinder way of taxing people . . . like a flat tax, or a consumption tax.  Now Representative Buddy Carter has come up with a new twist: a flat rate consumption tax.  As he says,

The Economic Democracy Act

      In the previous posting on this subject, we presented the theory of binary economics, which is the economics of the Just Third Way of Economic Personalism.  Today we’ll present what we think is the best application of the theory, the proposed Economic Democracy Act.

A Better Alternative

      

As we noted in yesterday’s posting, there is a much better alternative to the proposed “Billionaire Tax” or the minimum corporate tax, which would tax corporations whether or not they made any income — another instance of taxing something that doesn’t exist.  It starts to sound as if the game plan for the U.S. economy was drawn up by the Greeks . . . the modern Greeks, not those like Aristotle who knew that economic life centers on being productive and supporting human dignity and sovereignty with equality of opportunity and access to the means.  He just didn’t work it out very well, but at least he had the right idea.

Time for a Tax Reality Check

       The so-called “Billionaire Tax” proposal may be one of the most . . . we’ll say surreal initiatives in history.  How people, whom we credit with at least normal intelligence, can even consider such a thing has us completely baffled.

Reply to a Relativist, Part I

The other day we got into a discussion with someone insisting that taxing gifts and inheritance is illegal, immoral, and fattening . . . or maybe just unjust.  It doesn’t really matter; this individual just kept insisting that you cannot be for justice and at the same time tax inheritance.  In addition, a few comments were made claiming that “person” doesn’t mean “that which has rights,” a somewhat problematical claim for an attorney.

A Measure of Reform

In the previous posting on this subject, we posted another section of our recent CESJ position paper, “Universalizing Capital Ownership.”  Today we get to the final section of the paper, dealing with the short-term emergency measures we believe to be necessary, and a brief outline of the long-term reforms to the system that need to be carried out.  Of course, if you want to read the entire paper without having to go back and read the individual postings, just click on the link above to the full paper.  It’s pretty short.

We Agree With Alan Greenspan

. . . just not for the reasons you (or he) might think.  A few days ago, everybody’s favorite (or at least best known) freshman representative, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, said that the top marginal tax rate for the “ultra rich” should be raised to 70%.  This would allow the government to fund research into “green” alternative fuels with the goal of weening the U.S. off the fossil fuels by 2030.

A Few Thoughts About Taxation

Not too long ago we got into a discussion about one of everybody’s least favorite subjects: taxation.  Nobody likes it, even the people who levy taxes or benefit from it.  That being the case, why do we need taxes in the first place?

A More Just Tax, II: Tax Reform

As we saw in “A More Just Tax, I: Monetary and Credit Reform,” last week’s posting on the subject of a more just tax, there are four essential steps in achieving a more just tax.  The first of these is monetary and credit reform.  This is crucial, not simply because how much someone actually pays in taxes depends on having a stable means in terms of which taxes are measured, but for a host of other reasons as well.

A More Just Tax, I: Monetary and Credit Reform

We’ve been having a sporadic series of postings addressing President Trump’s proposed tariffs, starting with “The Two-Part Tariff Question” and continuing with “Is There an Alternative to Tariffs?”  At the end of the latter we concluded, “[T]here is clearly an alternative to tariffs . . . but only if you agree that the sole purpose of taxation is to fund government.  If you’re worried about other goals, however, is there a way to achieve them in a less harmful (or even beneficial) way?” and promised to look into that in the next posting in the series.