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by nradov 3538 days ago
Tax amnesties just encourage future tax evasion, since everyone will always be waiting for another amnesty. They create a moral hazard by causing disrespect for the rule of law.
3 comments

That's only the case if everything else remains the same. A tax amnesty coupled with significantly harsher penalties for future evasion would probably work pretty well.
or the government finds a way to finance itself in a way that doesn't exclude itself from economic activity

just a thought, worked 100 years ago from before it started financing itself with a passive income tax

it is entirely possible, also consider that no form of better tax compliance would solve its budget problems. The idea of paying 'fair share' is disingenuous when it is funding embezzlement within the military and defense sector waaaaay before it funds an an oft cited road or school

the biggest irony here is that I'm not a tax protester. maybe closer to a historian.

Of of course. The government should run itself as a business. Just shut down other businesses that are profitable, and take over their market. That worked in the past right.

And the lower taxes should encourage business growth, even despite the fact that the government could come in and take over at anytime.

Why would that be a worthwhile conclusion even if you were being hyperbolic?

The US government and others have financed themselves in many ways before income and capital taxes.

Yes, this has been done before and failed, see: Ancient Rome. Giving tax avoiders exactly what they want doesn't accomplish anything.
I don't know why this is downvoted, it's correct. They used to have tax holidays regularly in Ancient Rome, and it caused people to learn to wait for the next tax holiday.