Taxes

I just had an great albeit heated discussion about taxes and how they work, and I guess our cores of philosophy.

Briefly one view says that people should not be treated differently by the government because of class or position, in this cases taxes. That a person making 10k should be taxed the same percentage as a person making 1000k. In that if you look at total benefit the latter person is going to be helping a lot more people thus net benefit for the whole is greater (not that is important but it is a way to quantify). Calling this View A

The other view states that people should be treated differently by the government, because we are not equal, i.e the person making 10k should be taxed less than the person making 1000k. In that the person making 1000k will be able to be taxed a higher amount until his actual life is affected by the taxation, thus he should be taxed more. In essence the lower income earner is going to feel the weight of a 5% tax much more heavily than the person making the higher income. Calling this View B.


So my opinion is in favor of View A. While the higher income person is making more money and paying the same percent in taxation they are still paying more money than someone making less money. Even though the higher income individual may not feel it as much, he still does, and he is still being treated differently because he/she is excelling. I mean what kind of world do we live in where excellence is punished(this one I guess). And I do not at all feel that a person should be punished, or persecuted i.e paying more taxes because they do well in a financial world. That to me is entirely backwards. It like saying hey you not doing as well, but your doing much better why not give me some of what you have so I can do better just because your doing better. Why is lower income, poorer health, less intelligence, a blank check on the opposite of those three.

Going to back to the religious argument earlier, I think the greatest thing we have is free will and free choice. And to me taking that away is the greatest crime that can be committed. Now to commit that atrocity because someone is not as good, is to me even more heinous if that is possible.

I guess the core of my argument, is no person situation holds a blank check on me. That we are individuals, even though we are part of a collect system, and should be allowed to act as individuals so long as it does not encroach and the individuality of another. My core principals are inflexible or so I think, so if you see that they are not please poke holes in them so I can fix them

I am curious to hear your arguments on this especially on the difference in taxation, such as people be taxed more or less, because they feel the burden of taxation differently. And I know many of you only believe in basic taxes, but we are going to have taxes that is a given so please do not use the premise of no taxes as part of an argument (unless it's really good).

-Zachary