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Comment by kogus | Hacker News Reader

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kogus·

This is the real story, in my opinion. The income tax code in the United States boils down to:

Here is a simple, large amount you owe.

You can reduce it by:

1) changing your behavior in ways we like

and

2) telling us everything about your personal and financial life

It's a disgusting invasion of privacy on a far far larger scale than, say, the PATRIOT act. H&R Block and Intuit are just leeches on the back of the tumor that income tax represents.

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do you feel that any payment to a government is useless?

No, I do not. In fact, when it comes to income taxes, I object to the social gamesmanship + privacy invasion more than the actual amount. A solution I prefer would be a federal sales tax, combined with a Universal Basic Income.

The UBI would be equal to the amount of the tax on up to some minimum income level (say, 50k / year). In other words, everyone gets a monthly check that is essentially a rebate on their sales tax up to the income threshold.

That's simple, loophole-free, and avoids the privacy invasion that accurate income tax collections require.

That only works until individual wealth outstrips consumption. It also punishes people from participating in the economy.

I think we have the first problem now anyway. And I have no problem with a tax code that gives a little friction to profligate consumerism. In any case, I don't think you need to worry about my idea becoming policy any time soon :)

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