Quote:
Originally posted by livi
Me and one of my colleagues always end up in a tie debating the principals regarding tax levels. He is basically a fan of the pure Socialistic system. I am not. In Sweden the income tax is progressive. You pay a higher percentage in tax the more you earn. He thinks this is all very well and keeps hitting me with this being the core meaning of Solidarity.
My position is that with any given tax percentage, the person with a high income will still pay a lot more to the 'common good' than the person with a low income. I believe thats fair. If you have worked hard and/or happen to be gifted in some area, that should pay off.
He goes on, debating other political topics but always with the same theme - people who earns a lot of money should show Solidarity toward the poor by paying relatively much more. Basically, everyone should end up with roughly the same amount of money in their pocket at the end of the day. No matter if you lead a multinational company or are unemployed.
I have run out of arguments. Its like banging my head against the wall. What is your take on the subject and those of you that are in my corner - any arguments would be welcome.
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In my opinion, the reason you're losing the argument is that you're giving up over half your position by asserting that any taxes are good, or even necessary. Of course, they're neither.
As a reference, I suggest you read
For Good and Evil: The Impact of Taxes on the Course of Civilization by Charles Adams, and then visit the
Mises Institute and view their essays on the subject of
taxes