These are my links for November 25th:
- FT.com / Companies / Retail – Competing proposals to save Woolworths – It doesn't look like VAT will save Woolworths
- Income tax rate rise bucks global trend, says KPMG survey – Good, isn't it?
And exactly what we need
Crowds can be wrong – especially when influenced by bankers and accountants
- FT.com / In depth – Closer tabs on tax avoiders – Very good news
2 Responses to “My del.icio.us bookmarks for November 25th”
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Regressive tax
Britannica Concise
Tax levied at a rate that decreases as its base increases. Regressivity is considered undesirable because poorer people pay a greater percentage of their income in tax than wealthier people. Consumption taxes and sales taxes are usually considered regressive because of their set rate structures. Tobacco, gasoline, and liquor sales taxes, all major sources of tax revenue, are the most regressive taxes. In an effort to limit regressivity, a number of U.S. states have exempted medicine and grocery items from sales tax. Although the property tax is sometimes judged regressive because poorer people spend a larger percentage of their income on housing than wealthier people, property taxes are nonetheless effective in redistributing wealth from higher to lower income groups
The difference with property taxes in US and UK is that in US it is the owner (not the occupier) who bears the tax, even to the extent that mortgage lenders receive the bills. The main property tax in UK, Council Tax is indeed one of the most regressive taxes on the books.