Most (59%) think it is better to have lower corporate tax rates and very few deductions than to have higher tax rates and lots of deductions. Seventy-nine percent (79%) recognize that corporations generally pass higher taxes along to their customers in the form of higher prices.
So the truth is taking hold. From a SWNIDish perspective, this is a very optimistic sign in an indicator that leads Leading Economic Indicators.
6 comments:
Define "very few".
The SWNIDish answer is zero, but a huge deduction for health insurance against a surtax to fund health insurance, introduced gradually, would be a much better solution, constitutionally and practically, than fines for not having health insurance, so we'll say less than two.
Actually, what I meant was what does "very few" mean in the Rasmussen poll. (I already knew what SWNID's preference would be.) Did it really contrast "very few deductions" with "lots of deductions", or was it more along the lines of "few deductions" vs. "many deductions" or "fewer deductions" vs. "more deductions"? I clicked on the link but couldn't find any reference to the poll.
So maybe "few" meant "fewer than exist presently."
So (maybe) the poll showed that 59% think corporations should have lower tax rates and fewer deductions than they have at present. That sounds reasonable. But I suspect most of those polled hold that view because they believe such a policy would lower prices. (Cf. the 79% who think higher taxes lead to higher prices.) Of course, if they did think that, they'd be wrong. Prices are set by supply and demand. But that doesn't mean it wouldn't be a good idea to get rid of some of the sillier deductions (and lower the tax rate accordingly).
Lower taxes on corporations would lower the profit threshold, inducing more production, increasing supply and thereby lowering prices. Only by assuming that taxes have no effect on production can you conclude that lowering taxes would have no effect on prices.
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