if business and rich people benefit so much from government, why not charge a FEE for this?

[unblock]

people have such a negative reaction to INCOME taxes because people feel they EARNED it. which is true the lower you go down on the income scale, though less so as you go up it -- the earning doesn't come without effort, but it is helped considerably but other factors, including government help.

rich people benefit in many ways from government services, such as police and courts to protect their wealth, regulation to reduce competition (e.g., professional licensing requirements), interstate highways and yes, the internet (originally a darpa project) to facilitate distribution of their business products and so on.

since republicans are so into FEES for government services that don't hit them as hard (e.g., auto registration fees, etc.), why not have some REAL fees that hit high-earners as well?


for example, a fee for the privilege of maintaining a government contract?
a fee for the privilege of maintaining a professional license?
a fee for the privilege of the government imposing a tarriff on competing foreign goods?

and my personal favorite, a fee for being a potential bailout candidate (i.e., a too-big-to-fail fee) -- if we're going to permit this at all, we should at least CHARGE for it!

[Abq_Sarah]

1. I already pay a fee to maintain my licensing

To the state that issues it.

The fact is, most business owners aren't "rich".

[unblock]

2. agreed, smaller businesses are often treated like poorer individuals

i.e., there a certain regressiveness to the existing tax/fee structure in for businesses in much the same way as for individuals.

i meant for the fees to apply to richer, bigger businesses more so than poorer, smaller ones. i.e., find a way to make this progressive as well.

[kestrel91316]

3. I already pay the state of CA plenty, thank you, for the privilege of

hanging out my professional shingle. And now that veterinary accreditation is being changed, I guarantee you the feds WILL start charging a substantial fee for that, just like they already do for my DEA registration so I can purchase, possess, utilize, and prescribe controlled substances.

These all hurt the little guy disproportionately. Time for the big guys to PAY MORE INCOME TAXES AND CAPITAL GAINS TAXES.

[unblock]

4. i'd like to see exxonmobil pay GARGANTUAN fees for the privilege

of being able to drill and refine and so on.

the idea is to make this progressive.
place the "tax" on the government service/status/etc. but call it a "fee" and make it very progressive.

[notadmblnd]

5. They do charge for it. It's called campaign contributions.

[unblock]

6. ba-dum-CHA!

:rofl:
:cry: