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FalloutNano t1_jbqyvuy wrote

Reply to comment by upstateduck in Dell’s Latitude 7330 convinced me that business laptops are too expensive by dapperlemon

Why shouldn’t all expenses be deductible? Why is private aviation any different from other businesses?

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upstateduck t1_jbr0ft8 wrote

because an "expense" that isn't directly business related shouldn't be deductible

you could argue that your home heating bill is "business related" in that you couldn't do business the next day with the zero sleep you would get without heat but the tax code has to collect something to pay for govt services.

Alternatively we could simply tax revenue and the tax code wouldn't favor any type of "expense" but our system is based on "profit"

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FalloutNano t1_jbr37gr wrote

Taxing revenue is fine, so long as the tax is low. Many businesses are unprofitable, so a heavy burden on top would reduce the incentive to start a business.

On that note, a flat tax would be nice.

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upstateduck t1_jbrftpn wrote

who would a flat tax be good for? certainly not an economy that is 70% consumption

you clowns are so naive it is fucking scary

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FalloutNano t1_jbryrga wrote

Yet again…more insults that aren’t even relevant. I’ll just assume you’re a leftist.

As for who said tax benefits, it’s everyone who isn’t super wealthy, but for different reasons, except for tax professionals, obviously. I’ll give one example for each type of payer.

Ordinary employees benefit from a simplified tax code with reduced time and cost during filing season. An obvious counterpoint is that the IRS could do our taxes for us, and I agree. While, yes, many would pay more, nobody would escape taxes through the various schemes available to those with the ability, or means to hire pros, to hide profits legally.

Business owners would have a double-edged sword, ‘tis true, but the simplification would help many potential entrepreneurs who aren’t mathematically savvy to be able to determine the legitimacy of any business ideas, without acquiring expensive accounting experts. The downside is the obvious issue of being flat taxed on revenue, which was part of the original discussion, could easily lead to severe losses early.

Large corporations will likely lose out since revenue, generally, isn’t as easily hidden as profits. Thus, it’s likely a net loss to them.

As for billionaires, it’s definitely a loss. They’re forced to pay a flat tax on all personal income. The loophole of borrowing money against their corporations’ earnings is no longer viable due to the aforementioned business taxation.

Progressive taxation is wrong. The best way to pay for a system if governance is to have everyone pay an equal percentage. A flat tax both accomplishes that and simplifies the process, thus leading to better efficiency and lower cost of enforcement. You’ll notice that’s the argument for universal health care, lowered costs through efficiency and economies of scale.

As for the consumption angle, shifting our economy to a different form, likely with less unnecessary consumption and, hopefully, to more useful spending of time, should be good from the left’s angle. Reducing consumption, reduces inflation (hopefully leading to a period of deflation to bring our economy in line with main street), while helping the environment.

There’s much more to be said, but that’s enough for tonight.

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