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Comment by ggm | Hacker News Reader

> As a Brit and former resident, happy to have emigrated and escaped the >50% (soon to be increased) tax rates.

Hah. So you don't believe in the Scandi high-tax economy, or the Dutch one?

Resentment of taxation is a perquisite of the rich, overwhelmingly. In fact, most people who are not rich pay reasonable rates of taxation except they pay far more percentage of their income as VAT/consumption taxes, which is of course nothing like 50%

"nineteen for you and one for me" was George Harrison whining about super tax in the 60s. This isn't new.

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> they pay far more percentage of their income as VAT/consumption taxes, which is of course nothing like 50%

I don't think that's true, unless you assume rich people either a. spend a lower percentage of their income (in which case, what's the point in having money) or b. they avoid VAT when they do spend.

> rich people either a. spend a lower percentage of their income (in which case, what's the point in having money)

The point in having money is indeed NOT to spend it. It is to build a hoard so large you can live comfortably off the dividends and investment returns, or even to save most of that again and grow your hoard even faster, creating "fuck you" levels of money and intergenerational wealth.

When people say "tax the rich" they don't mean "deprive the neurosurgeon or City banker off his biannual new Mercedes". (These people DO indeed spend a smaller share of their income than poorer folks but that's not the point) When people say "tax the rich" they mean "tax capital returns" so that the country can benefit from the wealth currently amassed and extracted by the hyper wealthy that couldn't spend all their annual portfolio gains if they bought ought all of Paris Fashion Week every year.

Rich people do spend a smaller proportion of their income. They save and invest more because the pressures of day to day living don’t require them to spend as high a proportion on the essentials of life.

Now, how exactly this translates to VAT when a lot of essentials are zero VAT I’m not sure.

UK state does not provide high level of services, to justify super high tax. You have to wait years for some surgeries from NHS. Infrastructure such as transport system. Education. Safety....

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