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1) Corporations are taxed for a number of reasons. First, they are not simple pass-through conduits of business for the owners. They are independent entities who enjoy protections from the gov't that individuals do not have. They do not die like people do, and so are excempt from inheritance taxes. They may, for example, accumulate untaxed wealth and capital appreciation indefinitely, protecting its appreciation (sheltering it from taxes) forever. Another benefit of corporate tax on profits is supposed to help smaller, less profitable corporations compete with the larger corporations who enjoy the economies of scale for nothing more than their size.
Perhaps the biggest problem I see with corporations is that they've been allowed to become these mega-corporations, and that has been the road to hell. Simply, corporations should never been ALLOWED to simply buy out it competitors and then dominate the market. This is especially true when they leverage their position in one industry to take advantage in another. The best example is Disney buying ABC. Our ancestors thought that production companies should be kept independent to distribution companies, etc and I think they got it right. Allowing single companies to own all channels of a chain of commerce increases profits, but at the loss of competition.
Back to taxes. The problem with collecting taxes from corporations could be solved, but the political will is not there. I find it reprehensible, for example, that this "mailbox in Antigua" loophole remains open. Close it! The other thing could be to dis-allow non-productive activities used to only lower taxes, such as the practice of leasing public facilities in other countries, then renting them back for the same amount of money, only to realize a shifting of income (or type of income) from one country to another.
Taxes on simple revenues is nothing more than a sales tax, so I'd be against those.
Lastly, on corporations, let's dispense with the "double taxation" bullshit. When you spend a dollar buying something, you've paid taxes on making it, then taxes on spending it, and the company you're buying it from will pay taxes as income. Money is taxed on every level in the economy, and to pretend that somehow corporations are an unjust example is simply to echo an induced myopia created for/by the political writers paid for by the wealthy (aka CATO, Heritage, etc). The wealthy own the vast majority of corporation wealth and certainly control virtually 100% of it. Don't let their bullshit cloud your mind.
2) I agree about sales taxes. They are used only because they are easy to collect. I know Delaware, for example, gets by without them, so it *is* possible to run a state without the most regressive of all taxes. The fairtax scheme is a ridiculous conspiracy on many levels, but its the least desirable because our not only does our economy depend upon people spending money, but many people have no choice but to spend everything they make.
3) I personally can't think of a tax more fair than property taxes. Property represents wealth. While the valuation of property, used in order to determine liability, is often questionable, the principle that bigger, more valuable properties should pay more taxes for the services of fire, police, etc is an idea which predates the Declaration of Independence and there is not a state which has seen fit to eliminate them. While they've eliminated sales and income taxes, every state sees the wisdom of property taxes.
I personally think the "ultimate" tax would be a wealth tax. A big part of what our country DOES with its taxes is protect wealth in possession and value. France has a wealth tax, so it's POSSIBLE to have one, however, I see it being problematic. In the end, however, rich people have bigger houses, certainly own more property than the lower classes, and so I see property taxes as being a fair tax.
4) Fees. While it's fair that some fees should be paid for by those who use a given service (drivers licenses were used elsewhere) many fees are virtually universal, like the flat line fees on the phone. I think that phone taxes, for example, should be based not upon the phone unit, but upon usage. If you use the phone a lot, you should pay more for such fees. If you hardly use the phone, I don't understand why you should pay the same fees as someone who enjoys that service much more than you.
5) Fines. Yes, fines should be modified to be proportional to a person's income/wealth. Only then will fines be a true discouragement.
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