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--- taxes_and_taxation [2024/02/03 13:27] – rslaughter
+++ taxes_and_taxation [2024/04/05 09:15] (current) – rslaughter
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 I'll quote a little bit of the Tariff Act of 1789 that was passed by the U.S. Congress to demonstrate how complicated taxes were even at the start of our country.
-|@ivory:On all distilled spirits of Jamaica proof, imported from any kingdom or country whatsoever, per gallon, ten cents.\\ On all other distilled spirits, per gallon, eight cents. \\ On molasses, per gallon, two and a half cents. \\ On Madeira wine, per gallon, eighteen cents. \\ On all other wines, per gallon, ten cents. \\ On every gallon of beer, ale or porter in casks, five cents. \\ On all cider, beer, ale or porter in bottles, per dozen, twenty cents. \\ On malt, per bushel, ten cents. \\ On brown sugars, per pound, one cent.\\ On loaf sugars, per pound, three cents.\\On all other sugars, per pound, one and a half cents.\\ On coffee, per pound, two and a half cents.\\ On cocoa, per pound, one cent|
+|@ivory:On all distilled spirits of Jamaica proof, imported from any kingdom or country whatsoever, per gallon, ten cents.\\ On all other distilled spirits, per gallon, eight cents. \\ On molasses, per gallon, two and a half cents. \\ On Madeira wine, per gallon, eighteen cents. \\ On all other wines, per gallon, ten cents. \\ On every gallon of beer, ale or porter in casks, five cents. \\ On all cider, beer, ale or porter in bottles, per dozen, twenty cents. \\ On malt, per bushel, ten cents. \\ On brown sugars, per pound, one cent.\\ On loaf sugars, per pound, three cents.\\ On all other sugars, per pound, one and a half cents.\\ On coffee, per pound, two and a half cents.\\ On cocoa, per pound, one cent|
-Notably this section covers foreign tarrifs several types of alcohol. In 1791 Congress passed a law requiring //domestic// excise taxes on distilled spirits. So we are not dealing with anything new, at least conceptually, when we talk about taxes being complicated.
+Notably this section covers foreign tariffs several types of alcohol. In 1791 Congress passed a law requiring //domestic// excise taxes on distilled spirits. So we are not dealing with anything new, at least conceptually, when we talk about taxes being complicated.
-Today the government raises revenue in much the same way. That is, the authortities require that payments be made in specific situations. We still collect a lot of tarrifs (about $100B a year) but that's only a tiny fraction of the total money collected from citizens. We now have income taxes, captial gains taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, excise taxes on gasoline and cigarettes. Colorado doesn't charge sales tax for a cup of soda but they do charge for cups and straws as these are non-essential to the beverage. Arizona charges a tax on blocks of ice. Indiana has a tax on marshmallows but not on marshmallow cream.
+Today the government raises revenue in much the same way. That is, the authorities require that payments be made in specific situations. We still collect a lot of tariffs (about $100B a year) but that's only a tiny fraction of the total money collected from citizens. We now have income taxes, captial gains taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, excise taxes on gasoline and cigarettes. Colorado doesn't charge sales tax for a cup of soda but they do charge for cups and straws as these are non-essential to the beverage. Arizona charges a tax on blocks of ice. Indiana has a tax on marshmallows but not on marshmallow cream.
 While this sounds ridiculous it's only a more expansive version of "brown sugars, loaf sugars, and all other sugars" having different tarriff rates in 1789. Modern taxes also suffer from some of the same problems that our country faced in its infancy which were also faced by the tax collectors of ancient Egypt. Namely: it's pretty easy to hide your grain from whoever is doing the counting. That's in part why lawmakers have to keep inventing more and more convoluted ways to attempt to ensure everyone is contributing their fair share.
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 Plus what if you buy $1,000 of stock in a company? That firm certainly don't hang on to your cash; they use it to pay bills or hire people or buy other businesses or whatever they think is best.
-In modern economies money *mutiplies.* And almost all of that activity is happening in places the government can't see, just like the Egyptians couldn't see the bags of grain that farmers would hide.
+In modern economies money *multiplies.* And almost all of that activity is happening in places the government can't see, just like the Egyptians couldn't see the bags of grain that farmers would hide.
 **We will never be able to write a tax code that is fair and equitable and right-sized because we cannot possibly know where all the transactions are happening or where all the wealth is stored.**
 That might have been possible when it was just grain and cows. But not any longer. And it's been unworkable for a lot longer than any of us have been alive.