Our tax regime is moving inevitably to a majority of non-payers of income tax. This is destructiive because in this post http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2009/12/almost-13-of-tax-.html by the Tax Prof points out, vast numbers of Americans are indifferent to spending and taxation. With a solid indifferent voter base, it is pretty easy to co-opt enough tax payers to pass any spending program.
That is not the whole story. Those people that work pay lots of federal taxes in the form of labor taxes (Social Security and Medical taxes). So not paying taxes is just an illusion. This is a perfect storm for the political rats, because the true nature of taxation and spending is obscured from the voters.
The Tax Prof goes to the heart of the rationale for the Hedge Tax. Citizens will make different and more rational choices if they have a simple choice between tax and spend.
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