boedicca
Uppity Water Nymph from the Land of Funk
- Feb 12, 2007
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Someone runs a business, what constitutes expenses and what is profit? If the business owner runs restaurant and eats meals 'off book' at said restaurant, they can deduct the cost of the food from the profits and simultaneously see a personal, invisible profit, in the form of 'free' lunch. If another businessman hosts clients to conclude deals, is that an expense? What about the auto mechanic who marks parts as lost/stolen inventory when they are actually being used, on the sly, to keep his own vehicles running.
Every time you turn around another example of ways to get around any 'income' tax will come up, available mainly to those who run their own business.
I agree that a VAT tax is terrible, but the claim that a "flat" income tax will fix everything is indefensible.
I doubt Ray Kroc became a billionaire by eating up his inventory.
If you are worried about a mechanic fixing his own car, you sorely lack perspective.
People have to sign their tax filings; cheating carries a penalty. What do you suggest we do, add 100,000 more IRS agents to snoop around donut shops to see if the fry cooks are sampling the merchandise? The type of compliance you expect would be at such a high cost to Liberty that the economy would Cease To Function.
The Real Abuse is all of the inefficiency in our economy as government rigs the system in favor of its cronies. Follow the money. The Feds spending $4T is the Big Elephant In The Room.