If Taxes Were Simple…

complex taxes…		simple taxes…

pointless work every year, I waste countless hours preparing tax returns; every year, I worry that I’ve missed one of hundreds of lines that might apply to me, each line its own rabbit hole leading to endless further forms and millions of words of instructions		real work if taxes were simple, they could all be deducted at source: from employees’ pay, savers’ interest and investors’ dividends; few people would ever have to fill out a tax return, and we could spend the countless hours saved on real work instead

corruption politicians are addicted to complicating the tax code with ever more exemptions and special schemes; these tax breaks are just another way of spending tax revenue, but because they don’t look like spending, they’re easier for politicians to hide		accountability a complex tax code leaves politics wide open to corruption: rich and powerful people and corporations can bribe or blackmail their way to tax breaks, and no-one knows how much they’re extorting from the rest of us; if taxes were simple, we’d all know precisely how much of our money the government was spending

the rich pay less rich and powerful people and corporations can hire accountants and lobbyists to reduce their taxes; there are so many exemptions that the rich and powerful often end up paying a lower tax rate than the rest of us		we all pay less if taxes were simple, we'd need fewer tax accountants, tax lawyers and tax officials, so we’d all end up paying less

everyone’s a criminal our tax codes are so complicated that no matter how carefully we fill out our returns, we can never be sure that we haven’t broken some arcane rule; there can’t be a single taxpayer who hasn’t made an innocent error in his or her taxes over the years, which means that there can’t be a single citizen who couldn’t be pursued by the government as a criminal		everyone’s a contributor when our tax codes are so opaque that the government can’t trust taxpayers and taxpayers can’t trust the government, democracy is undermined; if taxes were simple, we would all be able to trust that we’re paying our fair share

Notes

If taxes were simple, everyone would be better off

Politicians love power. A complicated tax code gives them the power to spend our money and steal our time in ways that even tax experts don’t understand. This makes it easier for the rich and powerful to hijack the political process and pay less tax, and more difficult for the rest of us to hold politicians accountable. Many taxes, many rates, many exemptions ultimately undermine trust between citizens and government.

What if there were only one tax? What if there were only income tax, for example, and no other taxes: no sales tax, no corporation tax, nothing?

What if there were only one rate? What if you received your first $20,000 of income tax-free, for example, and paid 40% on the rest?

What if there were no exemptions? What if, no matter how devious your accountants, no matter how persuasive your lobbyists, you still had to pay 40%, same as everyone else?

If there were one tax, one rate, no exemptions, politicians would have no less power: they’d still be able to give handouts to whoever bribed or blackmailed them the most, they’d just have to explain to voters that they’d raised taxes from 40% to 41% to do so. As for the rest of us, we’d no longer waste all that time filing our tax returns, and we’d no longer live in fear of making a mistake; we’d know precisely how much of our money the government was spending, and we’d pay our taxes a little happier that we’re making a fair contribution, just like everyone else.

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Podcasts

Revolutions by Mike Duncan – Corrupt legislators, if you want to know how prepetuating unjust taxes can lead to your losing your head, literally, listen to Mike Duncan's excellent Revolutions podcast. Episode 3.2 – The Broken Regime describes how the Ancien Régime's taxes were in desperate need of reform. The rest of the series on the French Revolution shows how the ruling class's failure to address this or any other issue led so many of them to the guillotine.

If a podcast is listed on things made thinkable, it means I listen to it regularly and can recommend it as a thought-provoking follow-up to this visualization