Philosophy Now Forum

henry quirk wrote:Bob,

My only exposure to Evensonomics is in the dribbles of it you post in this forum.

You got a site devoted to the subject, or, a comprehensive paper that lays it all out in one piece?

If so: I'd like to visit that site or read that paper.

henry quirk wrote:Bob,

I have limited time for discussion and debate and q & a.

That's why a concise and encompassing paper or site would have been nice.

Bluntly: I just don't have the time to 'talk', even though the topic is interesting.

If you ever get around to gathering up all the planks of your platform in one place, let me know.

mickthinks wrote:So how and when is this tax levied - monthly, yearly, or each time the property passes out of one owner's hands into another's?

mickthinks wrote:All property should be taxed with no exemptions, and it is theoretically the only fair tax possible, with the lowest tax rate."

So how and when is this tax levied - monthly, yearly, or each time the property passes out of one owner's hands into another's? Taxes would be paid monthly like your utility bill. If property is sold, whether it be a yacht or a factory, the new owner becomes responsible for the tax

Since the only proper function of government is social integration and the protection of life and property, a tax on the property being protected is the ultimate and only proper source of revenue for this function.

Why is property singled out? The seemingly logical connection between what Government does and what it taxes is broken if social integration and life remain untaxed. Since money is merely a medium of exchange of property, property represents the only real source of value that can be taxed or sold to pay taxes.
And would the protection of life not include the provision of health care? The government can provide any level of healthcare it wishes, but everyone has to receive the same benefit, whether he is a millionaire or homeless. Of course, the larger the healthcare benefit, the higher the tax rate on property.

lennartack wrote:

mickthinks wrote:So how and when is this tax levied - monthly, yearly, or each time the property passes out of one owner's hands into another's?

If a single item of your property can be taxed multiple times, it is not fair at all: someone who works hard his whole life but choose to live sober will lose most of his property to taxes, whereas someone who spends all his profits (in a way that doesn't preserve its market value) will pay very few taxes.

If property is taxed when it moves from one owner to another, don't you essentially have a form of income tax combined with other taxes we currently also have?

Please explain Bob why you think you tax system is fairer.

henry quirk wrote:"what I just wrote is totally self-explanatory"

Sure, but Evensonomics encompasses more than that, yes?

If so: I'm just sayin' I'd like -- one day -- to see the entirety of your platform (in one place) instead of just the planks (spread out all over the place).

bobevenson wrote:Taxes would be paid monthly like your utility bill. If property is sold, whether it be a yacht or a factory, the new owner becomes responsible for the tax

mickthinks wrote:

bobevenson wrote:Taxes would be paid monthly like your utility bill. If property is sold, whether it be a yacht or a factory, the new owner becomes responsible for the tax

I'm assuming that the monthly liability for each property is set as a fixed percentage of the current market price - but that raises the issue of how, and by who, this price is to be determined. Many properties have not been on the market in living memory, and even when they have, they may have been significantly improved, or impaired, since their last sale. And what is to stop rich people exchanging valuable property between each other for a negligible nominal sum and undeclared benefits in kind? There are ways to estimate the range in value of any property. For instance, people already pay real estate taxes, but under Evensonomics, outside firms that are paid by the government determine an estimated range in the value of property, and the owner is taxed at the midpoint of that range. This value is the wholesale value and not the retail value of the property.

Since money is merely a medium of exchange of property, property represents the only real source of value that can be taxed or sold to pay taxes.
Money is also a medium of compensation for time and talent, and labour can be a real source of value too. Why do you object to levying a percentage of the market value of each citizen's labour, when you have no problem taxing property? The distinction you make between them seems arbitrary. Labor certainly has value, but its value is incorporated into the value of property (an accountant's labor in a manufacturing company) or can be considered as property with a shelf life of zero (a concert performance).

The government can provide any level of healthcare it wishes, but everyone has to receive the same benefit, whether he is a millionaire or homeless. That sounds like the British National Health Service. Excellent! It doesn't matter whether it's healthcare or anything else, everybody receives the same benefits, and this can become very expensive and increase everybody's tax rate until you reach the point of anarchy (long live socialism!).