4/15/2005

Taxes

It is April 15th and there is a very appropriate article on taxes. Various suggestions are given to improve our tax code. One suggests a national sales tax instead of an income tax. I think that a national sales tax would cut down on spending and hurt the economy. It would also create more dead weight social loss. What do you think?

3 comments:

Dr. Tufte said...

In an earlier comment I worked out a ballpark figure for filing 1040 forms only of $75B. The point of a national sales tax is that while it may create a deadweight loss, it will save on preparation expenses.

carter said...

Dr. Tufte,
Is the deadweight loss worth the preparation expenses? Would it hurt or help the economy?

Dr. Tufte said...

Most estimates are that a national sales tax would be beneficial (on this count).