Monday
(0)The sound Christopher Booker of his notebook in the Sunday Telegraph asks the age-old questions - What do we pay taxes for?
He then proceeds with a list of 'mundane' examples of people being charged for things done to them by government agencies such as HM Customs, the Home Office immigration department. He points out that the old principle that government is funded by taxpayers to carry out its duties seems to be breaking down in all directions. Well, it has taken him a while to notice but better late than never.
My reader concluded: "Presumably we can expect the same 'user must pay' principle to be applied to the cost of providing the health service, policing, prisons, libraries and state benefits."But the question remains, what then do we pay our taxes for? (Until the day, of course, when the Inland Revenue charges us a fee for reading our tax forms and taking our money.)
The answer is obvious - the taxes are necessary to support disabled black lesbian single mothers living in council estates...
The biggest problem with the 'user pays' system is that taxes don't actually decreased. You end up getting charged twice for services you use, and charge once for those you don't.
Posted by hast at February 16, 2004 11:40 AM
"disabled black lesbian single mothers". Surely there's still HR department jobs out there for them?
Posted by David Janes at February 16, 2004 12:53 PM
Hope you don't mind, but I thought it was so funny and true that I added the blog entry to the blog at Girl on the Right. Gabriel Syme has been credited.
Posted by RightGirl at February 16, 2004 03:19 PM
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." Thomas Jefferson
Posted by Rob Read at February 16, 2004 07:24 PM
See my note on Tax Loans to provide an alternative.
Yes, user fees.
Yes, tax loans, and separate payments for every gov't benefit.
And then push to reduce taxes, and double payment.
People understand that there's not really a free lunch, but know that gov't programs are almost free, to them; yet also know that taxes are needed to get the almost free benefits. Let tax-sucking users pay, for use, for all that's really usable, and the demand for services will go down.
If students were able to borrow 10 000 pounds a year for school, and repaid that loan from their taxes, plus a small (5%?) loan repayment surcharge, they would demand better education, at lower prices/loans. And would wonder why other benefits are done similarly -- and tend to be against general tax spending/wasting.
Posted by Tom Grey at February 17, 2004 06:12 PM
More stealth taxes! Others include the Inland Revenue's £60/day penalty on people who submit Income Tax returns after 31st Jan (but no penalities for mistakes, delays or malpractice by tax inspectors).
Stealth taxes =
Lies (claiming to be taking lesss than they are);
Evasion of democratic accountability;
Bad management, because they hide the true cost of government activities;
An erosion of freedom because understating the cost of government activities leads to further extensions of state (=bureaucratic) power.
Posted by Philip Chalmers at February 18, 2004 12:30 PM
