This is why I support high sales taxes with exemptions for necesities instead of income tax on wages. Carve out exemptions so that it isn’t a regressive tax but 500% tax on yachts, high taxes on alcohol and entertainment with higher percentages for more expensive forms of all luxuries. Tax capital gains at a higher percentage too and make firms automatically withold said tax upon asset sale.
The problem with sales taxes is they are always regressive. Carve outs don’t help because the rich will just add loopholes.
The rich always propose this as a flat tax because they understand how they benefit from it.
One possibility might be to a progressive sales tax tied to inflation. For example 0% for the first $100, 5% up to $1000…by the time you get to yacht prices the tax would be 50% – it’s all important that corporations pay this same tax so they don’t loop hole their way through having an LLC that owns the yacht and they simply “rent it” from themselves.
The big issue is how corporations are able to deduct the cost of business. If I could do this as a laborer, I would be able to deduct rent, food, vehicles, etc as the cost of supporting the physical entity that performs the labor.
But obviously that’s not how any of this is structured because the human body is not a depreciating asset… Even though it clearly depreciates with time and use.
This is why I support high sales taxes with exemptions for necesities instead of income tax on wages. Carve out exemptions so that it isn’t a regressive tax but 500% tax on yachts, high taxes on alcohol and entertainment with higher percentages for more expensive forms of all luxuries. Tax capital gains at a higher percentage too and make firms automatically withold said tax upon asset sale.
The problem with sales taxes is they are always regressive. Carve outs don’t help because the rich will just add loopholes.
The rich always propose this as a flat tax because they understand how they benefit from it.
One possibility might be to a progressive sales tax tied to inflation. For example 0% for the first $100, 5% up to $1000…by the time you get to yacht prices the tax would be 50% – it’s all important that corporations pay this same tax so they don’t loop hole their way through having an LLC that owns the yacht and they simply “rent it” from themselves.
The big issue is how corporations are able to deduct the cost of business. If I could do this as a laborer, I would be able to deduct rent, food, vehicles, etc as the cost of supporting the physical entity that performs the labor.
But obviously that’s not how any of this is structured because the human body is not a depreciating asset… Even though it clearly depreciates with time and use.
You can have non linear sales tax.