"Flat" Taxes
September 12, 2005 by Paul McKeever
On September 12, 2005, the National Post ran an editorial that endorsed the idea of replacing progressive rates of income tax with a single rate: the so-called “flat” tax. In support of the flat tax, the paper essentially argued that a single-rate income tax works well for lower-income individuals because they can be provided with a large personal exemption: the Post impliedly endorsed Alberta’s $15,000.00 personal exemption as an example.
I will not suggest that income taxes are good things: they are not. The point here, however, is that a large personal exemption only adds insult to an already injurious tax.
In a country that taxes the populace, representation without taxation is as bad as taxation without representation. A personal exemption from taxation turns a proponent of low taxes and limited government into an opponent of both. The higher the exemption, the greater the popular opposition to limited taxation and government.
The quickest way for all citizens to be crushed by a government is to relieve some citizens of the burden of carrying its weight.
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