taxing business profits ?!

[Supposn]

I doubt that your “single flat-rate tax on profits” could raise sufficient tax revenues.

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I’m a proponent of alternatives to progressive tax rates that would grant some tax consideration to lower income families.

that why "profit Taxes" only Tax (net) profits, e.g. (Income - StandardDeduction) x T%, that deduction would eliminate all Taxes on "poor people" below the poverty line.......
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Widderkind, I’m a proponent of alternatives to progressive tax rates that would grant some tax consideration to lower income families.

It’s possible to tax net incomes or gross sales in manners that to some limited extents have considerations for the working poor while gradually decreasing those considerations as incomes increase.

Comparing a general income tax with no other than a per capita standard deduction or a general sales tax with considerations for lower income purchasers, the sales tax compliance expenses, and federal administration and enforcement expenses would all be simpler, of lesser expense and would be less intrusive than that of the income tax.

Respectfully, Supposn

 

[Supposn]

Widdekind, the methods I advocate for a consumption tax are no less compatible with the attributes and advantages you believe to be unique to your single rate revenue tax with only a per capita standard deduction.
Additionally sales taxes are not applied to transfers of wealth such as deposits into finiancial funds, insurance, or purchases of stocks or bonds,

For a sales tax we should first identify expenses that are a much greater proportion of lower income families’ purchases.

[That may not be purchase items government wishes to be promoted. I suspect poorer families risk their health and future by not sufficiently spending for medical or education. To what extent is that due to dependence upon government’s provisions or due to other survival needs such as food, rent, utilities, or commuting fares?].

NY state waives their sales tax for non restaurant or catered food.

I advocate a sales tax waiver of possibly a capped threshold of rent, fuel and utilities for locations specifically annualy indentified and verified as a residential unit's address. The land lords, utility or feul delivery enterprises should be legaly resonsible for properly reducing the resicdential bills and verifying thst they are actual used as residential units.

Similarly if we can draft a description of commuting costs that excluded cross country or global tours, I advocate sales tax waiver of their threshold amounts.
The capped amounts of tax waivers for price thresholds should be annually cost of living adjusted.

Such a sales tax would be of lesser intervention, compliance expense to taxpayers; it’s of lesser administrative, enforcement expense to government and additionally there are less tax revenue losses than what can be expected from a single rate tax upon gross revenue with only a per capita standard deduction.

Respectfully, Supposn

 

[Widdekind]

total corporate "earnings" (net cash-flow, per year)
total corporate "profits" (after Taxes, per year)

average corporate Tax-rate (1 - profits/earnings)

a flat-rate Tax of 10% on "raw earnings" (Revenues - Expenses) would plausibly generate c.$1T / year (assuming a modest increase in economic activity, from reduced Tax burden). If "you had to" (pinching pennies), could you "make do" with $1T / year ($100B / month) ?

 

[Supposn]

total corporate "earnings" (net cash-flow, per year)
total corporate "profits" (after Taxes, per year)

average corporate Tax-rate (1 - profits/earnings)

a flat-rate Tax of 10% on "raw earnings" (Revenues - Expenses) would plausibly generate c.$1T / year (assuming a modest increase in economic activity, from reduced Tax burden). If "you had to" (pinching pennies), could you "make do" with $1T / year ($100B / month) ?

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/earnings.asp#axzz1sxAzPLY2
Definition of 'Earnings'
The amount of profit that a company produces during a specific period, which is usually defined as a quarter (three calendar months) or a year. Earnings typically refer to after-tax net income. Ultimately, a business's earnings are the main determinant of its share price, because earnings and the circumstances relating to them can indicate whether the business will be profitable and successful in the long run.
Read more: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/earnings.asp#ixzz1sxBNUnGV

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http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/profit.asp#axzz1sxAzPLY2
Definition of 'Profit'
A financial benefit that is realized when the amount of revenue gained from a business activity exceeds the expenses, costs and taxes needed to sustain the activity. Any profit that is gained goes to the business's owners, who may or may not decide to spend it on the business.
Calculated as: Profit = Total Revenue – Total Expense
Read more: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/profit.asp#ixzz1sxD37Ctg

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Widdekind, I cannot distinguish between post tax: net incomes or profits or earnings?
If they are all the same then a tax based upon pretaxed: net incomes or profits or earnings should all be the same amounts of tax bases.

Taxes based upon net incomes by definition are reduced by deductions for all business expenses.

Respectfully, Supposn

 

[Moonglow]

Government Force "should" protect-and-serve markets, guarding economies against thievery (e.g. via en-Force-ing contracts). Ergo, every economic market-place transaction "should" be guarded by Government, and "should" be sales-Taxed to cover costs ("paying the security guards"). If Government were economically neutral, then Government would apply a single flat-rate sales-Tax (e.g. 10%), on every dollar spent, in the market-place, on every commodity bought-and-sold (e.g. income, the "sale" of Labor).

However, business profits are "what's left over after the trading-day is done"; business profits do not reflect economic trans-activity, but the after-effects of the same. Ergo, Taxes on business profits are not "paying the guards in the market-place"; are "paying the guards back at home whilst counting money". Ipso facto, Taxes on profits economically resemble "muggings", of merchants, "on their ways back home", after-hours.

if business pay Taxes on profits (Revenues - Expenses); then people should pay Taxes on their net-incomes ("how much you got in your account?"); if people recognize the latter as a Taxation-after-Taxes ("double jeopardy"), then they should recognize the former, as precisely the same ("Taxed for standing around with money in your wallet").

George Washington settled the issue of taxes on businesses or those that are merchants by letting them know through the actions of the the "Whiskey Rebellion", that you will pay your taxes or die.

 

[Widdekind]

Widdekind, I cannot distinguish between post tax: net incomes or profits or earnings?

you tell me what terms to use: "profits", "earnings", "net cash flow", whatever you wish to call "Revenues less Expenses".

Taxes levied on "Revenues - Expenses" minimize the distortion of economies; they only incur, after some venture was already profitable, and then only "share" in some of those profits. Never do Taxes levied on "net cash-flow" destroy the profitability of ventures; but Taxes on "Prices" effectively add a costly component, the Tax, to every "widget" manufactured. Thus, they can make marginally-profitable ventures unprofitable.

Taxes levied on "Revenues - Expenses" may put a "drain" on an economy, like a power "brown out" -- but they never cut "power" completely. However, Taxes levied on Prices can "circuit-break" markets entirely, like a "black out". If you liken an economy, to a giant panel of light-bulbs, or a computer screen, where each "pixel" on the display represents one individual market (oil, computers, cars), and the pixel brightness represents how the net cash-flow (Rev - Exp) in that market; then a Tax levied on "profits" will "dim the display", whilst preserving the "picture", whereas a Tax levied on "Prices" will black out whole swaths of the screen, and dim the rest. Thus, the latter would vaguely resemble: