Comments (4)

• Steven Kane

  It is not a question of whether we should be able to have lower taxes. We certainly are able to have lower taxes. However, in the currency political environment there are only two major forces that keep tax rates down:

  1. Laffer's Curve
  2. The political unpopularity of taxation

  In the case of corporate taxes, these are popular because people view these taxes as taxes on the rich. Therefore, it is a politically popular tax and the only thing that will limit the tax rate is Laffer's Curve.

  This theme is repeated everywhere you look when it comes to taxation. Sin taxes, transit occupancy taxes, progressive income taxes etc.

  By bleeding wealth from the free market the U.S. government and other western democracies have amassed more wealth and power than communist USSR could ever dream of.

  In my opinion, there might emerge a third force that limits taxation in the future. This third force would be generated by the usage of private alternative currencies. Keep in mind, by and large, collectivism only exploded after the Federal Reserve was established and citizens adopted government currency as their medium of exchange.

  Also, in my opinion, discussing and arguing about tax rates and taxation is just one big shell game. Until people take their medium of exchange back into their own hands the government will be able to tax anything it wants whenever it wants because it controls all the financial and banking institutions through its monopoly on the currency.

  Published: May 17, 2004 8:24 PM

• Adem

  The other (sort of) corollary to this is that the US and Japan can afford to have high corporate taxes because we still have fairly wealthy private sectors.
  The parasites here are smarter. They don't want to kill off the host, or even to weaken it too much, but to keep it under control.
  

  Published: May 18, 2004 12:36 PM

• Tracy Saboe

  The problem is that corporate taxes are really just a tax on the consumer. It's too bad people don't see that.

  But this sounds like the cost of goods (all else being equal) is approximately 40% higher then they would be otherwise because of the tax.

  And they say they're helping the poor! The Majority of the "poor" in this country don't need welfare. And the ones that do probably wouldn't if the cost of the goods they needed went down 40%.

  Tracy

  Published: May 18, 2004 6:16 PM

• Don Lloyd

  Tracy,

  "The problem is that corporate taxes are really just a tax on the consumer. It's too bad people don't see that."

  Actually, corporate taxes fall on a combination of consumers, shareholders and employees, in general.

  Regards, Don
  

  Published: May 18, 2004 7:14 PM