I do agree it’s somewhat annoying accounting, but it’s like 1% of the annoyance of the current tax code.
I think the case for progressive taxes is reasonably good:
From behind the veil of ignorance I’d prefer more redistribution than I can get from an efficient flat tax.
Also see the minimizing-distortion argument in this post.
That said, I’d also be reasonably happy with something like a flat 50% tax + $20k UBI which I guess is the kind of thing you have in mind?
A progressive consumption tax doesn’t seem like too much trouble:
Income goes into your savings account. You make investments in that account.
You can’t consume anything from your savings account. You have to first move the money to a personal checking account.
The only number you report on your tax return is “How much money did I move into my personal checking account?”
To me this seems like quite plausibly less accounting burden than everyone who makes anything charging a VAT.
I do agree it’s somewhat annoying accounting, but it’s like 1% of the annoyance of the current tax code.
I think the case for progressive taxes is reasonably good:
From behind the veil of ignorance I’d prefer more redistribution than I can get from an efficient flat tax.
Also see the minimizing-distortion argument in this post.
That said, I’d also be reasonably happy with something like a flat 50% tax + $20k UBI which I guess is the kind of thing you have in mind?
A progressive consumption tax doesn’t seem like too much trouble:
Income goes into your savings account. You make investments in that account.
You can’t consume anything from your savings account. You have to first move the money to a personal checking account.
The only number you report on your tax return is “How much money did I move into my personal checking account?”
To me this seems like quite plausibly less accounting burden than everyone who makes anything charging a VAT.