Unfortunately the income tax is here to stay. Refine it. Overhaul it. Simplify it. Whatever. It is not going away. The carrot and stick approach is basic to the tax. That is not going to change. Conduct favored by the government is rewarded. While conduct not favored is penalized. Sorry, but that is the way it is done.
In so far as industry's favorable resonse to tax incentives is concerned, perhaps we could look to Europe for an example. Countries that you would least expect have thriving economies today...Ireland and Turkey are two cases in point. In Ireland's case they did it by attracting foreign investment through tax breaks. They now have one of the strongest economies in Europe.
As far as communism is concerned, I think you have to look at the realities of the situation. Marx envisioned something quite different than that which was actually implemented in China and the former Soviet Bloc. There was no uprising of a unified proletariat that crossed national /cultural experience. Rather Communism was molded by the cultural experience of the country in which it was implemented. Some took a more moderate approach such as Yugoslavia, while others took a more extreme approach such as China. I remember traveling through Yugoslavia and Bulgaria back in the 70's. It was like night and day. As an outsider from the West, you would never have known that Yugoslavia had adopted a communist form of government. They courted western European tourism...readily accepted American credit cards ...operated casino in Dubrovnic. I was standing in the corridor of the train as it crossed into Bulgaria. Five officials entered the corridor. Each wore a different uniform and each collected a different document from the passengers. They forced me out of the corridor, and back into my compartment. I suppose they wanted to prevent decadent westerners from escaping into their ridiculous workers' paradise. In any event communism proved to be a bankrupt social experiment. With the exception of North Korea, the few countries that still cling to communism are isolated or becoming more moderate. Viet Nam was dying for American investment. Although there are still a lot of questions left unanswered about the MIA's, we have normalized relations with them
With respect to China, it represents a huge market for American goods and services. Their human rights history is deplorable, but they want to enter the international community. To some extent they will have to modify their policies. Since the British left Hong Kong, I think there has been the mellowing of a revolution. Private ownership of property has been permitted for approximately 10 years. The standard of living has improved. It is not a country in which I would want to live, but like the income tax China is here to stay.
to post a reply:
login - or -
register