Archive for the ‘irs’ tag
No More Taxes #
In a bit more tax-day fun, Richard Coniff argues for the abolition of taxes:
I propose we stop saying “taxes” and start calling them “dues.”
Yes, this is a little sneaky. Some conservatives may even call it Orwellian, and they ought to know. But the word “dues” also plays into the psychology of group identity, and that can work to the benefit of conservatives and liberals alike. Consider that “tax” comes from the Latin for “appraise” with punitive overtones of “censure” or “fault,” as if wage-earners have done something wrong by their labors. “Dues,” in contrast, is rooted in social obligation and duty.
Loving the IRS #
As people across this country rush to complete their taxes and assure that the big bad IRS, Mark Gimien offers a piece that should have been called “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the IRS.”
But the IRS I have come to view with something approaching affection. For each of the last several years, I have owed the IRS money at tax time. And each time, rather than hauling me off to prison, the IRS has done its best to make my life easier.
Huckabee’s FairTax is Brilliant? #
At Slate, economist Steven Landsburg argue that Mike Huckabee’s FairTax plan is actually good. The highlights of the plan, for those who don’t know, are an end to the IRS and income taxes, and an introduction of a 30% sales tax. The piece contains a fair bit of shirking-conventional-wisdom-because-I-can, but maybe the revisionism is necessary for a plan that has been so universally criticized (even by me).
Bottom line: Unlimited IRAs, coupled with somewhat higher tax rates, have advantages and disadvantages, but the advantages are bigger. And whatever can be said about unlimited IRAs coupled with somewhat higher tax rates can equally be said of a national sales tax.