tirsdag 6. januar 2009

减税

OBAMA 讲减税, 在下也讲一下.

有人说减税只会有利有钱的人. 但有没有想到他们在减税之前对社会有多少税务的贡献呢?

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. “Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.”Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share? They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 ( 22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

“I only got a dollar out of the $20,”declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,” but he got $10!”

“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I!”

“That’s true!!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!”

“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison. “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!”

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

一首自己很喜欢的歌: 别人的歌

10 kommentarer:

卡臣 sa...

RADIAS 主音歌手陳德彰舊女友是周慧敏!

市場維京人 sa...

Your story is very meaningful. When poor claims they are poor, they should note what they have paid to the society. I hate those who always complain, complain and complain, but haven't considered and even thought about what others have devoted to the society. Poor is not an excuse to claim more.

雪山飛狐 sa...

卡卡,
你簡直就是個娛樂圈的資料庫!話說起來,真想見一下周慧敏一面看看她真人跟電視看的有多少差別。

Viking,
Exactly, it makes me thought of those African Americans in the US. They complain how the society owes them, but if you have ever worked with one of them before, you will notice that not only they are lazy, but they have a serious attitude problem. I am speaking for my previous experiences with working with them, not just individual ones.

eric sa...

Maybe they should stick to the original plan and get more beer instead?

L L sa...

所以呢,原生嘅就好,一變就麻煩。

唉,飲平酒嗰時就唔諗吓佔咗幾多人著數,人地俾少最多就嘈人,所以十佬咪唔鬼同佢地飲咯!

不過話時話,+佬嘅錢都係來自其他佬啫!

Haricot 微豆 sa...

Perhaps that's why policy-makers should think twice before choosing tax as an economic instrument to implement sustainable development related policies. As illustrated in your story, there is no such thing as "fair" tax in people's mind.

數奇門 sa...

敢問龐統死於何處?

雪山飛狐 sa...

庞统死的地方的确是落凤玻, 只是这名字是后来才改的. 他死的时候那地方是什么名字,书里没有提及. 让我尝试找找看.

雪山飛狐 sa...

Eric,
It's like asking the country to provide more free benefits. The fact is, the 10th guy who pay the most money, usually don't get to enjoy most of those benefits. The 1st to 5th guy probably could enjoy more beer, but the 10th guy need to save his stomach for the wine.

Lau-long,
No change is not acceptable, it's like a country who never adjust the tax policy disregard the economy status. Yes, the 10th guy makes money off the other 9 guys, but as long as he is not robbing them or doing anything illegal, it is just respectable. Look at Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett, donating most of the earnings for social cause.

Haricot,
Welcome to my blog. There is never a tax cut that is big enough. Here in Norway I am getting no tax break at all. However, some tax break is better than other free social benefits which isn't what some people wants.

eric sa...

I guess the trick is to make those free benefits applicable to all people regardless of their social status, e.g. cleaner air, better transportation etc.