dlo@drutx.UUCP (OlsonDL) (06/19/85)
>> > While you are at it one could increase the tax rates on corportaions. >> >They pay too little as it is. They pollute the air, water, and ground. >> >They exploit labor. And they get a tax break too ? >> >> "There is no free lunch". ... >> Reguardless of the legislation enacted, you cannot get blood >> from a turnip, and you cannot get taxes from a mirage. The corporate >> tax is real; the notion that there is a corporate entity apart from >> people is an illusion. >> . . . . . . >> Only people pay taxes, and that includes corporate taxes. >>David Olson >And that is the issue here. Shouldn't the people who profit from the >corporation pay some extra tax for the priviledge of using common >resources? If yes, the most effective way to administer the tax is >to tax the corporation. Some of the tax may go into the cost of >the product to the consumer, some into lower return on investment. >In either case, those who benefit from the good produced pay for >the social goods consumed by the corporation (air, water, police and >fire protection, military protection, etc. ) >What is wrong with a simple flat tax with one deduction. That deduction >set at the average return for the prior year. If you are below average >you pay no tax. Above average? Take your gross, subtract the average, >pay a flat percent of what is left. Those who win at the economic >game get to pay for it. Those who are loosing can at least watch the >action for free. -- >E. Michael Smith ...!{hplabs,ihnp4,amd,nsc}!amdahl!ems >This is the obligatory disclaimer of everything. (Including but >not limited to: typos, spelling, diction, logic, and nuclear war) Many people think that if a corporation could pay higher taxes, then they (people) would, in turn, pay lower taxes. My contention is that taxing corporations *IS* taxing people. A corporate tax is a cost of doing business that is no different than any other. A higher tax is no different than, say, higher advertising costs. It is still paid with money that *must* come from higher prices, cuts in wages, cutbacks in personnel, or a decrease in working capital. There are no other sources. Corporate wealth does not just fall from the sky. By the way, this decrease in capital does not mean that only rich people are affected. Besides the questionable (in my opinion) practice of trying to "soak the rich", not all who invest are rich. And, if a business does not have enough working capital, it cannot survive. Result---unemployment, and the investors losing their shirts. Reguardless of the purpose of that tax, if we want the corporations to pay higher taxes, realize that that money must come right out of our pockets in one way or another. There is no magic well from which to draw wealth. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, "There is no free lunch". David Olson "To laugh at men of sense is the privilege of fools." -- Jean de la Bruyere
mwilliams@chopin.DEC (Mike Williams 229-6258 LTN1-2/B17) (06/21/85)
>> > ... >> > While you are at it one could increase the tax rates on corportaions. >> >They pay too little as it is. They pollute the air, water, and ground. >> >They exploit labor. And they get a tax break too ? >> > ... Interesting opinion. Here on Earth, we have corporations that provide laborers with the much-coveted opportunity to earn a decent living. Lighten up! Mike Williams Exploited and well-paid for it by Digital Equipment Corp. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein represent the only reasonable interpretation of reality and are shared by all clear-thinking individuals. They do not, however, necessarily represent the views of my employer.