[roel_v]

"Why should the poor renter subsidize the rich homeowner?"

He's not subsidizing, is he? The tax just goes to the government. Essentially it's an extra tax on renting.

[ianferrel]

If the renter pays a higher tax rate than the owner, and they both have the same right to government services, that could be seen as a subsidy.

[woofyman]

Landlords get their own subsidies. All maintenance and improvements are tax deductions. Plus they get to depreciate the property.

[WalterBright]

Suppose a business buys goods at $80 and sells them for $100. You're suggesting that his profit is $100 and he should be taxed on $100 income?

[majormajor]

That's how sales tax generally works, no?

(Which suggests that the cost gets passed along and so it is a hit to the renter.)

[bzbarsky]

> That's how sales tax generally works, no?

Yes, which is why a VAT is much saner than a sales tax.