Comments by "John Burns" (@johnburns4017) on "Why Should We Tax The Rich? Discussed by Richard" video.

  1. No need to tax the rich, if the system is right. Use commonly created wealth to pay for public services, not penalise the productive. That is: ♦ use Land Value Tax at 100% of land rental value; ♦ charge for using electromagnetic spectrum; ♦ charge for using air space; ♦ charge for extracting minerals & ores; ♦ charge for extracting from the seas and seabed; ♦ charge for commercially using wind; ♦ Pigovian taxes on alcohol, tobacco, etc (not reclaiming commonly created wealth). Reclaiming commonly created wealth the productive can keep the fruits of their labours by abolishing income taxes (a penalty of the productive) and sales taxes (a penalty on trade). Also, keep the free market free, unmonopolised and unrigged. Land cannot be taken offshore being easy to collect. Under such a system the rich would become rich being productive, not by appropriating economic rent, which is currently the case.
    1
  2.  @lincolnpork9357  Firstly, economic rent is when there is: a) no costs of production; b) no enterprise; ♦ Land Value Tax does not socially/community exclude anyone. It reclaims commonly created wealth to use for common services. What we create we use to pay for our services. Simple. While leaving private wealth in private pockets. Currently we do the opposite. It is that simple. Land tax is cheap and easy to collect, with huge tax office employing swathes of people, and snoopers. Land, unlike money, cannot be taken offshore. The location of land is known to the inch. ♦ When levied at 100% of land rental value, LVT will eliminate personal income tax and maybe sales taxes. ♦ LVT near eradicates harmful land speculation. ♦ LVT creates a stable economy with speculation near gone. ♦ LVT promotes enterprise, as it makes matters easier for small businesses, as they do not get bogged down in income and sales taxes. In the late 1950s/early 1960s, Denmark found that enterprise was boosted by LVT as investment went into enterprise not locked up in land. The economy grew with zero unemployment. ♦ Of course we charge for use and extraction of what is commonly owned, to reduce, or eliminate income & sales taxes. ♦ Pigovian taxes do not reclaim economic rent, as does LVT, or charge for use or extraction of what is _commonly owned. They are disincentive taxes. They can also penalise polluters, such as fossil fuel taxes. You pollute our environment then you pay. ♦ If people earn money through pure enterprise in an unrigged and unmonoplolised market, let them keep all they earned, as they did good for many along the way. They also took nothing out of society, only putting something in. ♦ Economic parasitical activity has to be eliminated. ♦ Promote productive activities.
    1