Can we trust the taxpayer?
Sir, Martin Wolf in “Governments have at last thrown the world a lifeline”, October 15, though duly acknowledging all the many risks still has the rose-tinted glasses on, especially when comparing the size of the estimates of how much the financial systems needs to be helped with that of the overall size of the economies. Nothing wrong with that, in fact, a good citizen-journalist has a responsibility to keep on smiling even when it is with a stiff upper lip.
But thinking about the growth of other fiscal demands; the decrease in fiscal offerings that the current crisis will create; and being less optimistic than Martin Wolf about the government’s capacity to claw back the fiscal assistance they now provide, without the help of “creative” fiscal accounting, it is also time to responsibly talk about the lifeline to governments, namely the taxes.
The dollar bills, for which value the US is responsible, have printed on them the brief prayer of “In God We Trust”. A more substantial version would be “In God We Trust to see that the politicians and the bureaucrats do not print and circulate more dollars that what the economy could back or, otherwise, that the American taxpayer finds it in him the capacity and the willingness to pay taxes so as to make up any shortfalls.”
Can we trust the taxpayer? I am not at all sure of that. I have the impression that the various “bubbles” have also helped to disguise that our tax systems have lost much of their credibility, and the world seem to be screaming for more progressiveness of taxes, at least so as to take care of the fat-cats.
In this respect we need to find new equitable taxes that are aligned with the new global realities, and that interfere as little as possible with the functioning of a competitive economy. Thought there has been some loose talk of flat-tax, carbon-taxes and financial transaction taxes we have not really seen much of tax-development for many decades now.
But thinking about the growth of other fiscal demands; the decrease in fiscal offerings that the current crisis will create; and being less optimistic than Martin Wolf about the government’s capacity to claw back the fiscal assistance they now provide, without the help of “creative” fiscal accounting, it is also time to responsibly talk about the lifeline to governments, namely the taxes.
The dollar bills, for which value the US is responsible, have printed on them the brief prayer of “In God We Trust”. A more substantial version would be “In God We Trust to see that the politicians and the bureaucrats do not print and circulate more dollars that what the economy could back or, otherwise, that the American taxpayer finds it in him the capacity and the willingness to pay taxes so as to make up any shortfalls.”
Can we trust the taxpayer? I am not at all sure of that. I have the impression that the various “bubbles” have also helped to disguise that our tax systems have lost much of their credibility, and the world seem to be screaming for more progressiveness of taxes, at least so as to take care of the fat-cats.
In this respect we need to find new equitable taxes that are aligned with the new global realities, and that interfere as little as possible with the functioning of a competitive economy. Thought there has been some loose talk of flat-tax, carbon-taxes and financial transaction taxes we have not really seen much of tax-development for many decades now.
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