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Source link: http://blog.mises.org/7190/another-patent-tax/

Another Patent Tax

September 20, 2007 by

Just when you thought taxes and patents could not get any worse: Bush’s Top Economist Seeks Patent on His Own Tax Strategy (9/13/2007) reports on a patent application for a System And Method For Multi-State Tax Analysis, which claims:

“A method, comprising: creating one or more alternate entity structures based on a base entity structure, the base entity structure comprising one or more entities; determining a tax liability for each alternate entity structure and the base entity structure; and generating a result based on comparing each of the determined tax liabilities.”

So let me get this straight: the state already taxes us, though there are various hoops we can jump through to lower those taxes. The state also grants patent monopolies that others can use to restrict your actions, or demand a fee for it. So here we have a crony of the guy whose policies will cost us trillions of dollars in taxes enforced by the state, getting from the same state a monopoly privilege on a method to legally reduce those taxes, unless you pay him a royalty for this privilege.

{ 9 comments }

Jean Paul September 20, 2007 at 12:53 pm

i lol, but i feel like cry.

Jaq Phule September 20, 2007 at 1:05 pm

The Onion has become redundant. I don’t think it can compete with reality anymore. There’s so very many things wrong with this … not the least of which is that it isn’t even a terribly original tax strategy!

quincunx September 20, 2007 at 1:51 pm

Now when is someone going to patent a method for getting rid of the patent office…

Mathieu Bédard September 20, 2007 at 4:24 pm

A method, comprising: creating one or more alternate entity structures based on a base entity structure, the base entity structure comprising one or more entities; determining a tax liability for each alternate entity structure and the base entity structure; and generating a result based on comparing each of the determined tax liabilities.

O_o

……

Say what?

Kevin B September 20, 2007 at 5:11 pm

Why bother with Congress when all human activity can simply be determined by the Patent Office?

William September 21, 2007 at 2:23 am

I am holding my breath and very blue. Could someone tell me when the patent on breathing expires?

And, umm, what is the current tax-rate on air?

Robert M. September 21, 2007 at 9:01 am

Sorry William, but I do believe that you owe me some money. The government sold me the blue segment of the spectrum last month.

Buster September 21, 2007 at 2:18 pm

Maybe we need MORE patents on tax computation, so as to inhibit innovation.

Dan Davis September 21, 2007 at 4:09 pm

It’s hard to imagine we individual citizens, the voters, will really allow a corporation to patent a method that seems to encourage the creation of other extra entities (corporations) for the expressed purpose of tax avoidance. Do we not “get it” that our society is already like the old woman who lived in the shoe? Who has so many corporations (paper entities), it doesn’t know what to do?

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