Income Tax Burden

     

The fact that a large number of current jobs are directly the result of the Income Tax is NOT a good reason to retain it. The argument that it provides work for these people is the same as the 'broken window' theory - that it is advantageous economically to have windows broken because it makes work for glaziers. Although a work force repairing windows that are accidentally broken is necessary, breaking windows to create more repair jobs is obviously insane. But that in effect is the Income Tax. There are several alternatives to the Income Tax to finance necessary government, and the gargantuan army of 'window repairmen' servicing the Income Tax monstrosity could be employed in much more productive efforts. The deleterious burden on business of the Income Tax is so great that putting the Federal Bureaucrats, lawyers, CPAs, bookkeepers, etc. that are required by the Income Tax on welfare and eliminating the Income Tax would be an economic gain for the country.

The total effect of the Income Tax on the economy is virtually impossible to determine. The word insidious is defined as working or spreading harmfully, subtle but treacherous, gradually but secretly causing harm. This describes the Income Tax, in that a graduated Income Tax appeals to the lower classes because it looks like it can tax the rich and not them. This is the sinister aspect of the Income Tax, in that the cost to the consumer of all the Income Tax paid by every worker and business in this country that is involved in bringing the product to the American consumer is included in the final price of the product. This includes not only the workers and businesses that contribute to the production and delivery of all goods and services bought by the consumer but also all those parasites that are required to do all the necessary bookkeeping and other paperwork involved in determining and remitting the Income Tax. In addition there is the completely indeterminate cost of the many economically negative decisions that are made because of the arcane Income Tax rules.

A word in passing on a related subject. There are morality aspects to the many forms of taxation that seem to be given little consideration in modern America. In particular, Income Taxs are essentially a statement that an American citizen is in fact a serf of the Governments, Local, State and Federal, that he/she lives under. The situation is no different than that of the King in medieval times requiring a percentage of the productivity of each peasant to support his opulent living style.

Replacing (absolutely NOT in addition to) the Income Tax with tariffs, sales taxes, excise taxes, etc., should be a no-brainer. The problem is to educate the public to the total cost of the Income Tax, direct and hidden, and thus to the resulting loss of competitiveness of American made goods in both domestic and foreign markets. Adding tariffs on imports to offset the embedded cost of the Income Tax may help domestic producers for sales in this country (mostly paid by the American consumer), but it does nothing to make American goods more competitive in foreign markets.

Lastly, the fact that citizens of the U.S. are no more free than the medieval peasant should be galling to every hard working American. We fought the Revolutionary War in part over a tea tax. Let's hope we don't have to repeat over a serf tax.