News Story of the Day: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals are going to raise taxes on the rich, but it’s supposedly going to cost the federal government an estimated $100 million more per year, according to the budget watchdog.
As Ottawa cuts taxes (somewhat) for middle-income Canadians, it’ll raise taxes on the wealthy. It was believed during the election this would increase government revenues that would be used for selfie sticks for Trudeau, er, public programs for Canadians. It was another case of Santa Claus. The tax hike would actually lower government revenues by more than $8.2 billion over six years.
For 2016, the income tax rate is 20.5 percent for those earning between $45,282 and $90,563 per year. Meanwhile, those earning more than $200,000 per year would pay 33 percent in income taxes.
“Between 2015-16 and 2020-21, the revenue gains from the new tax rate would fall short of covering the loss in revenues from reducing the rate on the second tax bracket by an estimated $8.9 billion,” the report said.
Two things: first, anyone who is wealthy enough can avoid paying such taxes through various measures: loopholes, shipping the money off elsewhere or moving out of the country to a cheaper tax jurisdiction. Second, this idea that the government is paying for the tax cuts/tax hikes is a ridiculous notion. The government doesn’t pay for tax cuts because it merely gives the people their money back. It’s less extraction, less theft. If you believe that the government is paying for tax cuts then you believe in the idea that the government owns all of your property.
Chart of the Day: Want to determine when you’re likely to die and of what? Well, this one statistician created a rosy chart that showcases how you’re likely to die and at what age. The creator uses information from you in addition to data from the CDC cause of death database and provides you with rudimentary information relating to your inevitable demise.
Illustration of the Day: After this week’s report that Venezuela’s economy is collapsing in part to the country’s rampant triple-digit inflation. The central bank officially pegs the number at 141 percent inflation, it’s likely more than 300 percent. But that’s another story. Today’s illustration by The Money Project is an infographic that pretty much summarizes the world’s cases of hyperinflation.
Quote of the Day: Robert Wenzel over at Target Liberty wrote an in-depth and compelling article opining on the current state of the anarch0-capitalist theory, or as he prefers to call it: the Private Property Society (PPS). Here is what he writes:
“I view the idea that government is necessary as largely a myth. Government, for the most part, is simply an organization that seeks to survive and expand, driven by the people in charge of it. A change in government power is simply new people taking over power spots.
“Government does not protect us against terrorists, it does not improve healthcare, it is terrible at charity and the police do little to protect us against crime. Government is a propaganda machine that creates the impression that it is needed for all these matters when in fact it is a suffocater of real solutions.
“My working definition of anarcho-capitalism is a society where no government exists but where private property is recognized and respected.”
Video of the Day: If people were only this passionate over destructive monetary policy from the Federal Reserve…
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