Tax Reform

[Martin Hash]

I used to be surprised every time there was a new call for “tax reform.” As an engineer, you thoroughly investigate a problem once to understand the requirements, then provide a permanent solution until outside influences change the initial conditions. I could not understand why the conditions that require changes in taxes could not be predicted and accounted for, especially considering Government’s many decades of experience in taxation, and the sheer volume of modern tax law covering every possible contingency.

Yelling “tax reform” in a crowded theater, so to speak, is simply self-righteous behavior of the person screaming it. Some people wallow in their sense of moral superiority, whether it be feigned compassion on the one side of the political spectrum, or illusionary fiscal responsibility on the other. Whatever it is – it is disingenuous. “Tax reform” is one of those cheap political pandering tactics that makes honest debate about the real issues impossible. It is a Trojan horse to secret the pro-socialization agenda OR the anti-government agenda, depending on which side you are on. Taxation does not have to be perfect, it only needs to be in the ballpark - what we have is fine.

Instead, let’s debate what taxes are spent on. As a student of Keynesian economic theory, our biggest problem with taxation is that the money is escaping the local spending cycle: collect local, spend local!