"Tax doesn't have to be taxing", claims the Inland Revenue. Part of me wonders how much of our money went on that tagline, which must have taken all of ten seconds to think up, and whether that person has ever done much accounting or paid much tax; I'd personally have gone for "Inland Revenue: we've got what it takes to take what you've got", which is far more accurate. Maybe it was a joke: "Tax doesn't have to be taxing...but we made it so anyway." The tax code, which could be simple - say a flat rate - is instead a pile of differing rates, allowances, thresholds, and rebates, none of which truly makes sense. Taxes alas are not the product of classical economic logic, calculating how much we need to fund services then raising that revenue in the least damaging way, but rather of politics, an altogether more warped process; economics may be known as the dismal science, but politics should be known as the abysmal science, so much of it built on pandering to the core emotions of the mass public. Envy is therefore a strong player. "Tax the rich" is always a popular theme, though what constitutes "rich" - funnily enough - differs by who you ask so much so that it very rarely includes the person you are asking; "the rich" are always someone else, somewhere else, presumably wearing top hats and eating caviar for breakfast while ragamuffin children sweep their chimneys. People want higher taxes, as long as it's not them paying, and they're convinced they're not "rich" and so shouldn't pay a penny more than currently.
It is in this light that we must view our policies in regards to taxation. If our ultimate aim is a low taxed economy - low taxed across the board that is, because we realise that punitive taxation is severely debilitating to a nation - then we must not only argue for lower taxes but also do whatever is in our power to frame the debate in a way that is conducive to this objective. We must ensure that we understand the psychology behind voters' opinions on tax, then adjust the system to assist our debate so that the public support tax cuts and oppose tax increases at the ballot box. (Yes, we should be sneaky, but Labour is sneaky also so we'd be stupid not to be.)
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