Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Transaction based taxes (VAT, income taxes, sales taxes) decrease the distance money can travel away from the government.

I don't know if it is true but I make this prediction: High transaction taxes correlate with or even cause expensive government projects, excessive public sector employment and excessive welfare.

Edit: Greece was the first country that popped into my mind. I didn't know anything about the tax situation in Greece and simply googled "greece has excessively high income taxes" only to find this article: https://www.intereconomics.eu/contents/year/2011/number/2/ar...

Summary: Greece indeed has an impressively high progressive income tax. Young people aspiring to salaried jobs want to work in the public sector to decrease distance to the government. Half the households are self employed to avoid high income taxes and social contributions because of their high distance away from the government.



The high taxrates in Greece are a necessity because nobody pays tax anyway.


So, the rich are rich enough to avoid paying taxes, and the poor get fucked even more




Consider applying for YC's Summer 2026 batch! Applications are open till May 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: