Another guest Post - keep 'em coming!
William Hayes
Another Good Tax
Stephen Harper has said "There's no such thing as a good tax." As a stunning counter-example, I offer the notion of the Tobin tax, which has been newly proposed by British PM Gordon Brown, as reported both on this blog here and in this story from the Guardian.For more on the progressive notion that there are good taxes, see the editorial Can we have an adult conversation about taxes prepared by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Another Good Tax
Stephen Harper has said "There's no such thing as a good tax." As a stunning counter-example, I offer the notion of the Tobin tax, which has been newly proposed by British PM Gordon Brown, as reported both on this blog here and in this story from the Guardian.For more on the progressive notion that there are good taxes, see the editorial Can we have an adult conversation about taxes prepared by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
6 comments:
It was good to see Hugh Mackenzie's CCPA article concerning the need to have an adult conversation about taxes. Hugh was my boss at the Fair Tax Commission and very supportive of the efforts of some of us to do 1 or 2 page fact sheets in plain langauge to de-mystify taxes.
The experts always tell us the tax system is just too complicated for mere mortals to understand, and they don't exactly go out of their way to help us understand. Many people have swallowed that lie whole and just given up, so we continue as the stupid cash cows who feed politicians' fancies.
It could be different, and for anyone wanting to learn more, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is a great place to start. Thanks, William.
The progressive notion as presented in the editorial linked to this posting asserts;
"You really do get what you pay for. Just ask any 4-year-old."
Both links in this post were broken but I googled tobin tax and got lots of info, enough to refresh my memory.
It's an idea that might have prevented a good proportion of the financial crisis the USA started last year with its greed and duplicity, at least it could have deterred out of country deals that crippled Europe too.
But who would administer it? If it's the UN, who would be in charge? I would want the cash raised to be spent on poverty eradication and the environment, nothing else. And that's what would make it unpopular!
British PM Gordon Brown's support for the Tobin tax is reported in this blog and this story in the Guardian.
British PM Gordon Brown's support for the Tobin tax is reported in this blog and this story in the Guardian.
A new blog post of the Green Party of Canada supports the Tobin tax. Here's the lead sentence:
"The Green Party of Canada would like to see Finance Minister Flaherty give more consideration to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's proposal for a global tax on financial transactions to fund future bank bailouts, modeled on the Tobin Tax."
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