“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
Benjamin Franklin
This podcast is the first in a two-part series on taxes. This episode is meant to be an overview of why we have taxes, the landscape of both taxing agencies and taxable agencies, as well as the different types of taxes. (It is recommended that listeners start with The Boiling Frog’s very first podcast on capitalism before listening to this one).
At best, taxes are generally viewed by most of us as a necessary evil. However, understanding what taxes really are and why we employ different types is actually a fascinating subject. Unfortunately, discussions around taxes are often reduced to political sound bites and fail to examine why we have certain types of taxes, who is affected by each tax, and the pros and cons of different forms of taxation. Only with a better understanding of all of these issues, can we opine on the portfolio of taxation that is best for any community.
This podcast is the first in a two-part series on taxes. This episode is meant to be an overview of why we have taxes, the landscape of both taxing agencies and taxable agencies, as well as the different types of taxes. (It is recommended that listeners start with The Boiling Frog’s very first podcast on capitalism before listening to this one).
Understanding the differences among wealth taxes, income taxes, and transaction taxes – and the benefits and issues with each – is key to making smart public policy decisions. As such, our hosts look at these different types of taxes and examine how they stack up in four key measurements: progressiveness, ease in measurement and collection, friction added to the capitalist system, and the impact from general economic cycles.
This overview will set up the discussion in the next podcast, which will center around the implications of different tax policies, using one very famous example from California’s history.
Key Terms Used
Ad valorem, Boiling Frog, Corporate Personhood, Direct Democracy, Externality, Federalism, Friction (economic), Laissez Faire, Libertarianism, Natural Monopoly, Progressive Tax, Proportional Tax, Public Good, Rational Decisions, Reductionism, Regressive Tax, Structural Unemployment, Velocity (of money)
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