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Comment by mikewarot | Hacker News Reader

This is a good start, funding the IRS enforcement division and having them focus on the big fish would be an excellent next step.

The working class shouldn't be subsidizing large corporations.

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> The working class shouldn't be subsidizing large corporations.

Totally agreed. This is exactly why HN’s constant support for corporate tax avoidance confuses me. Most HNers live in high CoL countries, where corps do not pay their share of taxes. This leads to the same HNers paying more taxes to support their country. Truly hilarious!

Personally, I don't know, but one argument friends have made is that you "tax what you want less of" and taxing businesses might create a smaller economy.

I also wonder about the laffer curve, where sometimes higher taxes might lead to lower tax revenue and vice versa.

That statement seems incomplete to me. It should be "you overtax what you want less of, but you tax most things at a baseline level".

Because it all works out in the end. If a company is taxed more it just means less profits which means I have a smaller 401k, fewer employees and so on, buys less materials, does less work...

Corporations aren't magic money trees. It's like damming a river, you don't get magic free water and get to send water downstream too. Dams have lots of downsides in return for controlling flow.

* Untaxed profits go to shareholders and executives, not employees.

* Higher taxes does not mean companies will attempt to output less revenue.

Why would companies work /less/? Do HNers work less or ask for lower salaries due to being in higher tax brackets?

Sounds like you haven't run a company, with respect.

Do you have a non-personal reply? Maybe with some substance or explanation?

Some thing are experiential. I can't substantially explain riding a bike to someone who hasn't gone through the process of learning and then being able to ride. It just won't really make any sense and there isn't a frame of reference.

I strongly recommend starting a company and trying to sell something if you truly want an answer to your question.

That incorrect in my view. Higher taxes might mean more profits if those taxes go towards infrastructure or other things that increase productivity.

Corporations aren't also a zero sum game. More taxes could mean more profit. Make the whole pie bigger an all that.

Not really true. If I know I'll make a bunch of money this coming year I can choose to book it as profit or I can hire more people or build a factory.

I would love to live in a universe where higher taxes somehow magically gives more profit.

The IRS would be self funding and generate huge net profit if it would be allowed to hire more people and enforce tax regulation.

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