Your own country, what would you do?

[mrhnau]

New Topic: Taxation!

If you chose to tax your people, how would you do it? How much would you take? What would you use it for? Who determines how it is used?

Would you have a flat tax? Consumption tax? Scaled based on income? Would you allow deductions of any forms, or possibly credits? Is anyone or any organization immune to taxation? How would you enforce things?



If you want, feel free to continue discussing the old topic a bit

 

[Cryozombie]

I wouldn't need a tax, the Casino's and whorehouses that are run by the corporate state would have to pay for everything... if they didn't they wouldn't be able to function, and if they didn't function, there would be no profit, and without profit, there would be no need for my country.

 

[mrhnau]

I wouldn't need a tax, the Casino's and whorehouses that are run by the corporate state would have to pay for everything... if they didn't they wouldn't be able to function, and if they didn't function, there would be no profit, and without profit, there would be no need for my country.

I'm torn on state run industries. I think I'd pick some different ones if I were to choose LOL. If the government can control one industry and tax nothing else, there might be merits. It would need to be something everyone uses, such as gasoline, electricity, water, etc..


seriously though, I'd probably go for a consumption tax. That way, you make more and spend more, you pay more in tax. Spend a little, tax a little. Slap a 20% tax on top of everything. I've seen some studies that eliminating all taxes except for a 20% consumption tax and prices either stay stable or go down (no sales tax, coorperate taxes gone, everything gone, resulting in cheaper prices for production).

I'd consider some exceptions for the consumption tax, based on income and deductions. Paying for school or giving to charity? You get a certain percentage off. Low income? You get a bit off. This would require some kind of national ID card, so when you purchase things you can automatically apply the appropriate tax. That way you could monitor things too (someone with only 10k in income and spending 20k a year in purchases would raise flags). No income tax things to file and coorperations have it easy too I'd also set a lower limit. You can't get products with no taxes. Maybe make the max 20% and the min 10%. That way everyone is helping out.

I'd also give people some control in how things are spent. You have some minimum background for critical things (police, possibly infrastructure, salary for a few employees, etc), but I'd allow personal control for the rest of it. Just for a number, lets say 50% of it is in your control. Go to your public library, swipe your ID card on a computer and modify where you want your money distributed. Want 20% to go to military? 10% to public schools? 5% to infrastructure? You can do it! Alot more democracy, and you have power to effectively eliminate programs/expenditures you don't like. Get enough support and you can totally eradicate stuff. I'd make a history of expenditures available, so people know about how much is needed for things. I'd also consider making people pass a minimal civics test in order to redirect their taxes, otherwise the government spends it as they see fit.

yeah, I've thought about it a bit I'd love to have control of how my taxes are spent.

 

[Don Roley]

First, I would try to limit the amount of things the government can do. That would limit the need for taxes to only needed stuff to prevent society from collapsing.

Next, I would try to post certain taxes on a pay as you go means. For example- if you fly in or dock at a port, you will need to be inspected to insure that you do not bring in anything that could harm the populace at large. You will pay a tax that will cover the expenses of that agency.

A lot of the rest of the taxes will come from a value added tax of a certain percentage. The payment would not be required, but if it is not paid then you lose all chance to take up civil suits in the public courts. If you opt to not get it taken from your paycheck, you can't sue your employer and vice versa. If you pay for a house and do not pay the tax, then any break in the contract is just your own fault. If the builder does not want to pay it either he risks you not paying the full amount and can't force payment. If you don't want to pay the government for something like this, you really do not have the right to scream that they need to step in and set things right for you.

Criminal cases would still be taken up by the authorities. But if you have a dispute over something in the civil courts, there will be an effort to insure that you have paid a kind of insurance to cover the costs beforehand.

Oh, and since I am an evil king (yes- I would be a king in the manner of Sparta's alternating kings with an elected senate, but that is not the subject right now) I would have a secret sting program. There would be a secret agency that would seek out people that would like to find a way to force those that have more than them to pay for the government to do things that might enrich themselves. Once found in these entrapment schemes, their assests would be seized in secret and they would be turned over to a camp where they would labor in a manner that would benefit those that had less than them for the rest of their lives. Some of the wealth the produce would go to the general fund to benefit everyone by supporting defense and things like the EPA to prevent one person from harming another with their actions. Their dreams of the rich benifiting the poor would come true in much the same way as the story of the enchanted monkey paw gave wishes.

 

[mrhnau]

First, I would try to limit the amount of things the government can do. That would limit the need for taxes to only needed stuff to prevent society from collapsing.

I'd be in favor of that... I really think the role of government should be exceptionally minimal

A lot of the rest of the taxes will come from a value added tax of a certain percentage. The payment would not be required, but if it is not paid then you lose all chance to take up civil suits in the public courts. If you opt to not get it taken from your paycheck, you can't sue your employer and vice versa. If you pay for a house and do not pay the tax, then any break in the contract is just your own fault. If the builder does not want to pay it either he risks you not paying the full amount and can't force payment. If you don't want to pay the government for something like this, you really do not have the right to scream that they need to step in and set things right for you.

That would be difficult... say you get some builder that knows you are not going to pay the tax. He does crappy work on your house on purpose, knowing you can do nothing about it. The logic says "just pay your tax", but if someone is scraping by, it would suck to have crappy house based on the whim of a builder.

Oh, and since I am an evil king (yes- I would be a king in the manner of Sparta's alternating kings with an elected senate, but that is not the subject right now) I would have a secret sting program. There would be a secret agency that would seek out people that would like to find a way to force those that have more than them to pay for the government to do things that might enrich themselves. Once found in these entrapment schemes, their assests would be seized in secret and they would be turned over to a camp where they would labor in a manner that would benefit those that had less than them for the rest of their lives. Some of the wealth the produce would go to the general fund to benefit everyone by supporting defense and things like the EPA to prevent one person from harming another with their actions. Their dreams of the rich benifiting the poor would come true in much the same way as the story of the enchanted monkey paw gave wishes.

I think one of the only ways to get rid of corruption is through a sting type program. The problem is in keeping those individuals/procedures hidden. In a few communist countries, there were informants scattered through the nation, involved in every industry and organization. These people would eventually be found out by the people, and often were ostracized. Its hard to keep a very large sting organization hidden for any amount of time.

 

[Don Roley]

That would be difficult... say you get some builder that knows you are not going to pay the tax. He does crappy work on your house on purpose, knowing you can do nothing about it. The logic says "just pay your tax", but if someone is scraping by, it would suck to have crappy house based on the whim of a builder.

Tough.:vu:

Live within your means or kiss your chance of getting someone else to bail you out of your stupidity goodbye.

Did I mention I would be an evil king?

 

[zDom]

Taxes would be completely arbitrarily based on whether I want you to live in my country or not.

Foxey women? Minimal. Maybe zero.

Rich guys who may be good looking enough to compete with me for the foxey babes living on my island? Maybe 75 percent. If they don't like it, they can leave. Good riddance!

Rich people who I find interesting enough (and offer enough flattery) may be eligible for lower tax rates.

Tax rates on others would pretty much be determined on whether I think they are an asset to my community or a detriment, how much they voluntarily contribute to the local economy and standard of living.