That is exactly it. And though I do not have the quote in front of me, I can tell you this is how the justice who said it approached every issue.
Maybe "encouraged" and "engrained" were not the right words. How about "endorsed"? I think rational self-interest is a concept that might vary in the degree to which it is adopted into people's behavior as you move from country to country. That's only a theory. Certainly, in the US, reducing tax liability, and doing so vigorously, is believed to be the rational thing to do.
But if I'm the taxing entity, is it rational for me to endorse the idea of paying less? That would seem to lead to a reduction in the amount I will collect as those being taxed adopt and refine their tax reduction strategies.
If you think it's an American thing, go look up how IKEA avoids taxes sometime. In exactly what country do most companies voluntarily pay more tax than they're legally required to?
I don't know but that would be a cool country to live in, don't you think? Rational self-interested people helping each other out. It could be a good thing.
Comments
The "expectation" is merely because that's what any rational, self-interested person would do. I can't see how it's logically possible to escape that.
That is exactly it. And though I do not have the quote in front of me, I can tell you this is how the justice who said it approached every issue.
Maybe "encouraged" and "engrained" were not the right words. How about "endorsed"? I think rational self-interest is a concept that might vary in the degree to which it is adopted into people's behavior as you move from country to country. That's only a theory. Certainly, in the US, reducing tax liability, and doing so vigorously, is believed to be the rational thing to do.
But if I'm the taxing entity, is it rational for me to endorse the idea of paying less? That would seem to lead to a reduction in the amount I will collect as those being taxed adopt and refine their tax reduction strategies.
> But if I'm the taxing entity, is it rational for me to endorse the idea of paying less?
It's rational for you to accept the fact that people will work to minimize their tax liability and construct policy under that assumption.
[deleted]
If you think it's an American thing, go look up how IKEA avoids taxes sometime. In exactly what country do most companies voluntarily pay more tax than they're legally required to?
I don't know but that would be a cool country to live in, don't you think? Rational self-interested people helping each other out. It could be a good thing.