We Need VAT and UBI

The article argues that consumption taxes are necessary for this model, but there's no mention of why VAT is the best tool for the job. I'm not sure why VAT is sacrosanct.

I've read that it costs small companies around 2% of turnover to be VAT compliant. In the modern age, this is absolutely insane.

We have the ability to work out how much businesses spend to do a job. We can boil that into a transaction or sales tax, which - with digital payments - can practically be automated at source. (if people pay in cash, that assumes a local service being supported, so who cares if its taxless? it balances out the unethical practices associated with hugebusinesses).

There's also no mention of externality taxation. If we're going to have socialised services, surely consumption taxes need to be raised in parallel to how much goods/services impact society?

> This is not a political post

> I’m aware of the irony of this statement. Everything is political.

This is a horrible cop-out. Sure, everything is political to an extent.

The subject of the article though, taxes, is political in nature. There is no way to discuss taxes outside of politics. Taxes are one of the most political subjects there can ever be, and trying to untangle them just means your argument will have exactly zero relation to reality.

VAT is the most regressive tax since inflation. Rich people spend basically zero of their wealth. Poor people spend almost all of it. Even though there are exceptions and item-level exemptions, it's still the poor people who feel these prices the most, and it is reflected in spending behaviors in European countries in my experience.

We don't need a VAT. Taxes on consumption are insanely regressive.

Put a tax on the value of land instead of the property improvements. Then you'll start to see some wealth flow away from the UHNWIs.

VAT is one of the most regressive taxes imaginable, the author doesn't know what the hell he's writing. Or maybe it's AI-generate slop, too lazy to check.

Can we just tax billionaires who take out infinite loans against a market they get to rig because they take out infinite loans against a market they get to rig because they take out infninite loans against a market they get to rig because they takeout infinite loans agianst a market they get to rig because thye takouet inifnite loans?