NationStates Jolt Archive

II. Statement of Economic Principles

As an extension of our demands for government recognition of property rights and free association, we respect the primacy of the free market economic model.

Therefore, where government exists, we demand that its economic role be limited to the protection of property rights and voluntary trade.

1. With the recognition that taxation is banditry, the theft of one's labor, but also with the recognition that intermediary pragmatism demands that tax be gathered, we must set priorities as we deal with this tricky subject. As theft is illegitimate in all forms, regardless of its ends, it is not the distribution of state appropriated funds that we should concern ourselves with, rather than the burden state appropriated funds place upon the individual.

With the monetary burden placed upon the collective determined by the fiscal policy, and inequal allotment of burden initiated by progressive income tax rates, we must concentrate on eliminating the non-monetary burden upon and eliminating the possibility of possible inequity of graduated income taxation.

Therefore, where government taxes the individual, we demand that it institute a National Retail Sales Tax.

This accomplishes two goals:

A) eliminates the forced monitoring, reporting, and general subserviency created by the income tax and the Internal Revenue Service.

B) provides for the equal taxation of true income: consumption.



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I will continue to add more sections as I go along.

Feel free to tell me I am a fool, a genius, or where I should go next.

*snip*

I think that the only fair form of taxation is payment for the security and law functions of government. Since these are involved in all productions of goods, they should be imbedded in the purchase, like transportation and wholesale prices are imbedded in the costs of goods- hence, a consumption tax as you suggest. However, income, payroll, and property taxes are not conceivable as being the more-or-less ethical payment of government for the services of law and security, since they automatically confiscate from the individual the fruits of his labor.

Edit: There should also be a rebate for taxes that would otherwise be collected on expenditures necessary to live. It should not be in the form of exempting certain goods, for this would open up the doors to various lobbyists, but rather a per-capita rebate that would cover the estimated expenditures of everybody. This would give legal equality for taxation, but relieve the burden on the poor that a regressive tax would create.