These observations about the nature of taxes on businesses from Douglas Wilson make some sense in the context of the Australian Government’s decision to reform the taxation system by placing a substantial tax on the mining industry.
Here is just one example. Whenever you see public complaints that corporations and businesses “don’t pay taxes,” you can be assured that envy has done its deadly work. And what happens if everyone is persuaded, and Congress fixes everything by passing a law? (Where would we be if Congress didn’t fix things for us?) Now, do corporations and businesses now pay taxes?
No, the only thing we have done is make these corporations and businesses collectors of taxes, on behalf of the government. From whom do they collect them? Why, from John Q. Envy, who now pays higher prices at, say, the gas pump.
No business ever paid a tax. Businesses adjust their prices according to overhead, and when the public clamors to have that overhead raised, that sometimes happens. The overhead is raised. And when this happens, the business makes its adjustments, collects the new money from the saps at large, and passes that money on to the government. And, the saps mutter in satisfaction, at least greedy gusses at OilCo are paying their fair share now.
Wilson’s comments are interesting. If taxes are raised from industries whose income is derived from the payments of Australians, we pay those taxes. If the taxes go up, the price goes up, we pay those taxes at a higher level, but we’re satisfied that those industries are ‘paying their share’. Their share of what? The money we paid them. All we do is get our own money back, less the take which the business and the government deduct for handling.
Now, if those who purchase the resources that the mining companies dig up are overseas it does mean that the Australian people (through their government) are effectively taxing those who are not in our nation for the right to obtain materials that are irreplaceable once gone.
All that needs to be determined is whether the tax can be factored into the sale price in a way that does not price our commodities out of the market.
mgpcpastor's blog 