Carl Milsted Jr. of Holistic Politics and frequent contributor at the Free Liberal www.freeliberal.com has just written an article that touches on a better tax policy, a green tax policy, a libertarian tax policy idea, an egalitarian tax policy and a SIMPLE, hard-to-corrupt tax policy idea...all in one tax policy idea.
Of course, this idea is not new to us Libertarians, in fact, there are many libertarians of "Right" persuasion who do not like the idea....making me like it even more. I glad to see him write about it. The underlying concept is rooted in the idea that whatever you tax you get less of...except Land and natural resources because they are finite and fixed.
read on.
read the whole, short article here:
http://www.freeliberal.com/...
or read these snips if you're too busy:
How do we improve the lot of the poor?
Listen to the far Left and you hear an answer along the lines of dividing up the national income more evenly. The underlying metaphor is that of a fixed pie.
Listen to the far Right and you hear...more economic growth. If you let the rich keep their capital gains, then they will invest it in more tools of production, which will increase worker productivity thereby increasing wages.
Who is right?
The answer is: They are both partially right - and partially wrong.
When it comes to capital, the Right is correct. More capital means higher wages.
When it comes to land and natural resources, however, the fixed pie metaphor is more appropriate. When the rich buy up land, it bids up the price of land for the rest of us. Land is a fixed resource.
Understanding the difference between land and capital is critical to solving the problem of poverty. When the rich invest in land, they get richer while making others poorer. When the rich invest in inventory or the tools of production, the entire economy grows.
Likewise, take a fresh look at our own tax code. We could apply this principle to have a progressive tax system which allows plenty of economic growth. I will cover this issue in a future column.
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Please read the whole article. But the issue he will cover in a future column is the idea of Land Value Rent Tax. The idea is that land and its resources is the only thing that can be taxed without diminishing its supply. Tax the use of land. Do not tax anything else. This idea is well reserched and recomend some google searches on LVT, Land rent, Land Value tax and other similar combos. You will find the name of Henrry George i your searches and the like of modern proponents like Fred Foldvary.
Tax on Land (which is the same as property tax) replacing all taxes on wages and capital will spur incredible growth and raise the living standards of everyone. Though a total shift in a short time is not feasible any gradual shift will be welcomed. It's a concept worth looking into.