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"gov't taxes corporations' profits and individuals' revenues" Say what? As I understand it, a basic theme of income taxation for me as an individual in the USA, and indeed most (perhaps all?) western countries is that if I buy something for B and sell it for S, I get taxed for S-B income. And as I understand it, that basic theme really is the way that it works for a lot of businesspeople, though they may need to be quite careful to jump through certain hoops (particular kinds of recordkeeping e.g.) to ensure that it works that way reliably. And it is roughly the way it works for individuals not ordinarily considered businesspeople when they buy and sell things like residences and securities, although it's sometimes wrapped up in extra weirdness like special real estate tax categories and short term vs. long term security capital gains. What country or countries are you referring to? Or are you just referring to the fact that employees employment expenses are not as eligible for deduction as many business expenses, securities transactions, and real estate transactions? (And, um, bringing in "corporations" for some rhetorical reason that I can't fathom?) That would make it roughly true to say "taxes business profits but taxes labor revenues." But to characterize that as "gov't taxes corporations' profits and individuals' revenues" seems more nearly false. Also, that is a radically different tax treatment of labor revenues and business revenues, but you don't explain what you find particularly curious about that. For good or for ill, radically different economic policy treatment of labor revenues and business revenues is pretty widespread, not limited to tax policy. E.g., consider how business monopolistic collusion to restrict supply is broadly forbidden even when the collusion is wholly voluntary, while labor unions are not just allowed to collude voluntarily to restrict the supply of labor but supported in actively preventing rivals from providing a supply of labor. |
You've put it much better than I did. What I find curious (and insulting) is that the government effectively values my time and energy at $0.