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	<title>Tax Policy @ OptimalPortfolio.net &#187; Against Income Tax</title>
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	<description>Replacing wealth taxes with a flat consumption tax and other political commentary...</description>
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		<title>Excuses for not Replacing Income Tax</title>
		<link>http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/2008/12/23/excuses-for-not-replacing-income-tax/</link>
		<comments>http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/2008/12/23/excuses-for-not-replacing-income-tax/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Dec 2008 02:53:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business Objections]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Compliance Cost]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Income Tax Inequities]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/?p=365</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With $150B+ in improved economic efficiency on the table and the potential for improved quality of life and better corporate returns, why haven’t legislators funded a study to replace income/capital taxes with consumption taxes? One justification might be that a $13.8T economy would only see a 1.1% improvement in efficiency by adopting consumption taxes. Legislators [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Dismantling the Middle Class</title>
		<link>http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/2008/12/19/dismantling-the-middle-class/</link>
		<comments>http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/2008/12/19/dismantling-the-middle-class/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 19 Dec 2008 08:55:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Efficient Government]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Income Tax Inequities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Limited Government]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/?p=60</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I was reading some of Thom Hartmann&#8217;s laments recently, including some of the pages promoting his books.  I applaud his effort to expose the problem, but after reading his democracy will save the middle class rant, his labor perspective becomes more obvious.  Hartmann is a rock star every-man author with an armful of book [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Equal Protection Federal Loophole</title>
		<link>http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/2008/06/27/equal-protection-federal-loophole/</link>
		<comments>http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/2008/06/27/equal-protection-federal-loophole/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 28 Jun 2008 02:05:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Income Tax Inequities]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/?p=27</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Fourteenth Amendment was intended to provide broad protection from legislation that denied rights and privileges to segments of society.  The particular case that led to its passage was legislation in various southern states denying African Americans the right to vote.  It&#8217;s unfortunate that the drafters limited the scope of the Amendment to [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Income Tax Compliance Cost</title>
		<link>http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/2008/06/19/income-tax-compliance-cost/</link>
		<comments>http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/2008/06/19/income-tax-compliance-cost/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:25:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Compliance Cost]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/?p=25</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Taxpayers exert significant effort (about $140B in 2001) to ensure that they’re paying no more than the minimum necessary to comply with myriad federal tax regulations. The Internal Revenue Service also exerts significant effort ($11.1B in 2008) ensuring that taxpayers contribute no less than the minimum proscribed by law.
The efforts of both parties in this [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Addictive Keynesian Economics</title>
		<link>http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/2008/06/19/addictive-keynesian-economics/</link>
		<comments>http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/2008/06/19/addictive-keynesian-economics/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:48:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Failed Justifications]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/?p=24</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Great Depression inspired people to rethink stock markets, macroeconomics, and the role of government.  In particular, John Maynard Keynes was inspired to write The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (published in 1936), striking at the heart of neoclassical economics theories based on equilibrium seeking free markets.  Keynes was concerned with [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Maximizing Participation in the Tax Policy Debate</title>
		<link>http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/2008/06/19/maximizing-participation-in-the-tax-policy-debate/</link>
		<comments>http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/2008/06/19/maximizing-participation-in-the-tax-policy-debate/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:41:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Flat Taxes are Regressive]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Income Tax Inequities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Limited Government]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/?p=22</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My general objection to tax loopholes is that they have the effect of reducing the tax burden on one class of citizens at the expense of others.  Usually this means that the vocal or well organized minority opts out and the silent, poorly organized remainder carries the burden.  The situation applies to subsidies [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Income Inelasticity Justification?</title>
		<link>http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/2008/06/18/income-inelasticity-justification/</link>
		<comments>http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/2008/06/18/income-inelasticity-justification/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:39:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Failed Justifications]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/?p=21</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The usual argument in favor of taxing income rather than consumption is that consumption is more elastic than earnings.  Although this is the predominant view (supported by studies like: Brookings Paper on Macroeconomics), there is evidence to the contrary.
In the Wikipedia article Wealth elasticity of demand, the author notes that consumption didn&#8217;t change substantially [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Contacting United States Legislators</title>
		<link>http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/2008/06/18/contacting-united-states-legislators/</link>
		<comments>http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/2008/06/18/contacting-united-states-legislators/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:22:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Income Tax Inequities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Prefer Consumption Taxes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Taking Action]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/?p=20</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I encourage you to lobby legislators representing your district to consider, if not write/support a bill to replace all wealth taxes (income, capital gains, and inheritance) with a flat consumption tax on new goods and services.  Consumption taxes reach the widest possible tax base (including tourists, illegal aliens, and gray/black market elements), thus lowering [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Earned Income Penalty</title>
		<link>http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/2008/06/18/the-earned-income-penalty/</link>
		<comments>http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/2008/06/18/the-earned-income-penalty/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Jun 2008 06:57:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Income Tax Inequities]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/?p=19</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We often hear arguments in favor of reduced income tax rates on capital gains.  The universally popular argument being that government recognizes the importance of capital as the lifeblood of the economy, if they were to tax capital too heavily (i.e. as heavily as they&#8217;re hammering labor), the economy would suffer.
There are several fallacies [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Optimal Enforcement?</title>
		<link>http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/2008/06/07/optimal-enforcement/</link>
		<comments>http://OptimalPortfolio.net/TaxPolicy/2008/06/07/optimal-enforcement/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 Jun 2008 05:23:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Compliance Cost]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://optimalportfolio.net/TaxPolicy/?p=8</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Government&#8217;s usual answer to a shortfall in income tax compliance is to step up enforcement, yet no matter how effective enforcement could ultimately be, it will certainly involve increased cost and can&#8217;t ever be perfect.  So you end up with ludicrous optimality condition where revenue from improved compliance is finally equaled by the incremental [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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