Hacker News Reader

Comment by knubie | Hacker News Reader

At least among economists it is not that polarizing. Most agree we should get rid of corporate tax. [0] In reality a corporation cannot pay taxes any more than a table can. Only people can pay taxes. So who pays the corporate tax? It must come from the corporation's consumers, employees, or shareholders (or some combination thereof). Raising the corporate tax is just a sneaky way of raising tax on one or more of those three groups.

[0] https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2012/10/18/163106924/a-ta...

View on HN

> a corporation cannot pay taxes any more than a table can

That's just, like, your opinion, man.

Seriously, they're two entirely different classes of things. One is an inert physical object, the other is a legal instrument that can collect and retain money, and shelter its shareholders and employees from legal and financial outcomes.

If I asked the average person on the street, which of these two things do you think would be more likely to pay taxes, they would look at me like an idiot.

>Only people can pay taxes.

But corporations are people..? Can't have it both ways right :/

Unless I'm missing something here.

You could probably get most economists to agree people shouldn't pay income tax either; they are a distorting influence. Land/economic rent taxes really are the way to go.

Yes. Corporations are made of people, and they produce goods and services for other people. The people that compose that corporation pay the tax, or the people they sell to.

But companies are legal entities, they can buy, sell and own stuff. They aren't just a collection of people. They can make profit, some huge amounts, and they should pay taxes for that.

You don't understand that in the US's capitalism corporations are people. That's why they are able to use infinite money to influence elections (because in American CAPITALism, corporations' usage of money equals free speech and you can't limit people' speech). Yes, I agree, it's absolutely insane.

Google "Citizens United v. FEC" Supreme Court decision.

Conveniently, they are people only when it comes to corruption and influence. But not when it comes to rules or punishment (like if a corporation killed people, it should be possible to give it a death sentence).

"The court held 5–4 that the freedom of speech clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures for political campaigns by corporations including for-profits, nonprofit organizations, labor unions, and other kinds of associations."

? I don't see what's insane about this

The owners of a corp aren't the ones paying tax. The corp has its own balance sheet.

>In reality a corporation cannot pay taxes any more than a table can

The citizen's united ruling of 2010 disagrees with you, in the US at least.

>So who pays the corporate tax?

I don't know. the same one who pays for campaign donations. IANAL.

A corporation can't pay taxes? But they do.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com