Trump's tax proposal: raise taxes on the poor, give to the rich

[Final-Fan]

Superman4 said:

Final-Fan said:

But you have to pay sales tax with the same money that you also pay income taxes on!  How is that conceptually not the same sort of double taxation that you claim as one of the main reasons for your opposition to the estate tax? 

IMO it can sometimes make sense to tax particular things at different amounts, although I think this power should be used sparingly.  Take gas and tobacco, for example.  The gas tax is devoted to helping pay for the roads most of that gas is being used on and other transportation related things, but I would welcome debate over whether it's really necessary to have a special tax for that reason.  Tobacco is if I am not mistaken taxed specifically to discourage the use of that product.  Additionally, it is judged to come with a high cost to society so we tax it not only to discourage it but also to get back some of the cost that society is saddled with as a result of its use. 

I really dont like any tax but understand its needed to some extent . Sales tax at a fixed rate would be ok. In California the sales tax fluctuates so much from city to city its insane. Also, that "gas" tax that is supposed to go to roads doesnt end up making it to them .  IMO If I want to sell a product that people want and knwo the risks of using, the goverment should not be able to tax me out of business. 

So why is a "double tax" of income + sales taxes OK, but a double tax of income + estate tax isn't OK? 

If you really want, we can talk about how much the gas tax actually goes to roads, but that would be a more detail oriented discussion because it's about evidence rather than concepts.  It's clearly false that "none" of it goes to roads, but you could argue that just as much gets spent on roads regardless of whether there is a gas tax (any gas tax money just results in less general fund money for roads).  We have a huge roadway infrastructure so just because you see potholes doesn't mean nothing is being done, but perhaps not ENOUGH.  After all, we wouldn't be able to complain about road construction if they weren't doing anything! 

As for your other comment, the next thing we can talk about is the problem of "the tragedy of the commons" and whether government regulation is an effective and acceptable way to stop it.  Cigarette smoking is not exactly the same thing, but it's a related concept. 

Last edited by Final-Fan - on 27 October 2017