--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], murdoch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > Another different example of this is that a "tax break" given to a > specific party can and should, in my opinion, be considered a subsidy > at least in some cases.
I'm glad you included the word 'some' in your comment. It may depend on the perception of what a Tax is supposed to be. Is it a User-Fee for governmental services? Or it it a punitive measure? If some entities are punished less than others, to call that a subsidy would be to imply that others must be punished to a greater extent because the first gets a discount. > This came up in the original Bush proposals for drilling in the > Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge, where he proposed something like $30 > billion in tax breaks for various oil and Natural Gas concerns who > would be active in the region. It is not as clearly an example of > corporate welfare (i.e. subsidization) as simply giving these > companies cash money up front, because first they have to do taxable > work before they can get a break on the taxes that they might > otherwise have had to pay (and which others will now have to pay to > make up that shortfall). What shortfall? If a government punishes some aspects of society less, does it always follow that others must then be punished more? > Thus, the "conservatives" and supposed > advocates of free markets who propose such subsidies can somehow claim > they're not proposing Socialism when in reality they are proposing a > variant of it. I don't consider it a subsidy when the punishment is lessened for one person for performing a desired action. If all members of a group are sentenced to 50 lashes daily, unless they perform a desired activity, if one member of the group carries out that activity in the hopes of a lesser punishment, is that member being subsidied by the rest of the group? Only if his reduced number of lashes are to be distributed amongst the uncooperative group members! Perhaps we have opposite perspectives on the role of taxes? I perceive a tax reduction as a lessening of punitive action earned by performing a desired action. Is it your perception that tax reductions are a reward, the cost of which must be born by others? Cultural differences? Motie ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Sell a Home with Ease! http://us.click.yahoo.com/SrPZMC/kTmEAA/MVfIAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
