Taxing Paris Hilton
From Boston Gal's Open Wallet:
Today's Christian Science Monitor explains: Why the rich get the most tax goodies.
He suspects one reason Americans tolerate tax cuts favoring the wealthy is that many anticipate becoming rich themselves and thereby benefiting.
It is true that when I made the most (as an independent contractor) was also when I paid the least in taxes (write-offs, write-offs, write-offs!) Sometimes I wish the tax code could be written to heavily tax people like Paris Hilton - we could call it the "stupidly wealthy tax". Money generated from the Paris Hilton tax would directly fund educational programs with the goal to produce as many anti-Paris Hilton's as possible.
Well, the Fair Tax would certainly accomplish that goal. Err, the goal of taxing Paris Hilton, not the goal of funding educational programs to produce anti-Paris Hilton's. Still, by taxing consumption rather than income, the Fair Tax would certainly make rich playboys/ playgirls actually pay taxes for the first time in their lives.
Fortunately, the Fair Tax wouldn't just tax Paris Hilton. It would make all of us better off by removing all federal taxes (income, investment, capital gains, business income, etc) and replacing them with a single consumption tax. It would simplify the entire tax code and increase the tax base (tax everyone, not just those earning an income). It would make American exports cheaper. American made products and foreign made products would -- finally -- be taxed at exactly the same rate.
What's not to like?
This entry was tagged. Fiscal Policy Tax Reform Taxes