From: Ron Kean (ronkean@juno.com)
Date: Tue Jun 08 1999 - 23:40:22 MDT
On Tue, 8 Jun 1999 14:41:29 +0100 Daniel Dixon <d.dixon@syzygy.net>
writes:
>?
>?Charge sales tax on stocks and bonds at the same rate as on every
>?consumer item?
>?
>
>Ideally yes.
>
>A flat tax of 0.1% on every single transaction that takes place is
>the
>fairest form of taxation. This form of tax would (currently) net more
>income
>than all the current sales and income taxes that are out there. The
>financial world runs on (large amounts of) money changing hands very
>quickly.
>
>
That of course is a comprehensive transactions tax, rather than a retail
sales tax. One attraction of a retail tax is that the tax enforcement
need concentrate only on a limited category of relatively openly
observable transactions. Spot checks to see that 'planted' transactions
are reported by date, time, location, and amount could detect a pattern
of evasion by a retailer. On the other hand, the comprehensive
transactions tax could be rather efficiently implemented by simply taxing
all bank deposit transactions, including cash, check, electronic, credit
and debit card, etc. Collection costs would approach zero, as it would
involve a small programming change in the software the banks already use.
At such a low rate of 0.1%, there would be little incentive to avoid or
evade the tax.
Ron Kean
.
.
.
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