The right is constantly telling us that higher taxes means job killers. But the United States has lower taxes (as a percentage of GDP) than many other countries as we can clearly see here and many of them have lower unemployment rates. Denmark, for example, has close to 50 percent taxes to GDP and yet unemployment stands at 6 percent. From the Heritage Foundation:
With its economy open to global trade and investment, Denmark is among the world leaders in business freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom, property rights, and freedom from corruption. The overall regulatory and legal environment, transparent and efficient, encourages entrepreneurial activity. Banking is guided by sensible regulations and prudent lending practices. Monetary stability is well maintained, with inflationary pressures under control.
Even with all of those taxes? Wow, that doesn't really fit the fictional narrative at all, does it? In fact, it ranks one spot higher than the US on the Economic Freedom matrix set up by the Heritage Foundation.
Let's take a look at Sweden. Sweden has slightly lower taxes (47 percent of GDP) yet has 8 percent unemployment). According to the Heritage Foundation, Sweden also has an "efficient regulatory framework strongly facilitates entrepreneurial activity, allowing business formation and operation in Sweden to be dynamic and innovative" earning it a score of 95 percent in regards to business freedom. Sweden has all of this despite higher taxes.
Higher taxes do not necessarily mean job killers. This is a lie that really needs to put in the fucking ground. It's sole purpose is meant to bamboozle frightened people out of their vote. I have no problem giving on the spending side of the equation. It's time for you folks on the right to give on the revenue side so we can adequately address our debt issues.
11 comments:
Those countries rely very heavily on VAT - which is a regressive tax. Is that what you want M - more taxes on the people who can least afford them?
A second question, does that chart include all U.S. taxes (state & local, not just federal) - because most European countries are highly if not completely centralized on taxes?
Didn'y you just post this chart (or one similar) and got savaged over your lack of insight?
Why try it again?
With its economy open to global trade and investment, Denmark is among the world leaders in business freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom, property rights, and freedom from corruption. The overall regulatory and legal environment, transparent and efficient, encourages entrepreneurial activity. Banking is guided by sensible regulations and prudent lending practices. Monetary stability is well maintained, with inflationary pressures under control.
Hey look, less uncertainty!
Let's flip it around...do liberal folks on here think that high taxes create jobs?
Let's see if we can make this so simple even a teacher can understand it.
Let's say your monthly income is $3000, and your monthly bills are $5000, including the payments on loans you got so you'd have the money to live a $5000 a month lifestyle (because apparently you didn't have the spine to listen to the wife and kids whining about being poor). Obviously you can't afford to pay all these bills. Should you:
a) Demand a raise from your boss.
b) Go get another loan, so as to cover the loan payments you are already making and can't afford.
c) Get your buddy the counterfeiter to print a bunch of fake bills with which to pay your creditors.
d) Go out and buy more stuff on credit, and worry about the bills later.
e) Prioritize your budgeting and learn to do without all but $3000 worth of "stuff", even though this will have a negative effect on your credit rating and therefore your ability to get more loans.
You can choose more than one answer.
Okay, didn't realize on first reading this was the same chart (from the previously discussed data) - so scratch my second question. Property taxes, and presumably other state & local taxes are part of the calculation.
First question still stands - why do you endorse or encourage more regressive taxation?
The previous post was more about corporate taxes. This one was more about taxes in general and the whole job killing fiction. The Heritage stuff was also something I wanted to add in because I found it very interesting that they gave high marks to countries with such high taxes and tighter regulation...meaning more central planning...but seemed to be overly harsh on the US. I may have a post on this at some point but their section on the US is ridiculously political.
Regarding the regressive tax, I'm not sure I understand where you are coming from, juris. I'm more of a proponent of a progressive tax although at this point I'd settle for simple tax reform. How do you see regressive tax in this table?
Not to put words in your mouth JI, but Mark, VAT = regressive.
Anon is correct, and I'm glad you asked since you don't seem to know.
VAT is a form of sales tax (collected differently), and any economist - left, right or center - will tell you that the burden of that falls heavier on low income households than on high - which is pretty much the definition of regressive. Some economists even see that as a feature, not a bug (discouraging consumption and favoring savings).
I told you several times in the previous discussion that the U.S. tax regime vis-a-vis the comparative countries was much more progressive. If you really want a higher percentage of GDP to flow through the govt, you pretty much have to go the same route as they did and implement a VAT (or as occasionally discussed in this country: a national sales tax).
Ah, I see. But the point of this post was that higher taxes don't automatically correlate to job killers. I'm not saying we should have taxes as high as Denmark or Sweden. A modest increase in the tax rate for the upper bracket won't kill jobs.
But the point of this post was that higher taxes don't automatically correlate to job killers.
That might not be as simple as you think. European countries tend to have worse structural unemployment than we do. The Economist did an analysis some years ago contrasting the U.K. and U.S.
A modest increase in the top tax rate also won't raise much revenue - so it really comes down to you wanting to stick it to the rich.
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