Comment by carlosjobim
Comment by carlosjobim 4 days ago
> give some of its state-sponsored affluence back
Then why not tax the military? They are surely the most affluent company of them all, if you take a tally of all their inventory.
If you tax companies based on their size rather than their profits, then you're not going to have any big companies. Any investor or entrepreneur would be a fool to invest in making a big company.
But many endeavours need big companies and big investments. For example power plants. That's a whole lot of value to tax, such affluence! Better redistribute this wealth, and instead have a hundred thousand non-affluent hot dog stands.
> That’s just how non-corrupt governments are supposed to work!
In practice, every government in the world does not tax companies reinvesting their profit into growth.
> why not tax the military?
Narrowly: because they're a utility funded by taxes, not an independent entity benefiting from tax-funded infrastructure. Having a military for defense/power projection/whatnot is one of the infrastructural benefits of being part of a state (and one of the things that a company that grows in that state "owes" the state tax money for--whether that's owed on growth or just capital).
Like, do I personally think my country's military should have a vastly different funding profile, incentives, and behavior? Absolutely. But that doesn't change the fundamental dynamic: $state provides $thing (security, clean water, cheap gas, whatever) that makes being in $state good for many people, people who do well financially within $state owe it money back on the basis that their doing well is at least partially a result of $thing being available to them.
> Any investor or entrepreneur would be a fool to invest in making a big company.
Not true. A growth tax need not be a 100% tax, so growth would still be an advantageous thing to do. Many countries have tax brackets today; that doesn't discourage people from getting rich.