Sunday 9 November 2014

The Moral Maze BBC Radio 4 , 5 Nov 2014

The moral purpose of Tax     http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04n6119#programme-broadcasts

I must congratulate you on your input to this programme  which i often find interesting , but  I was waiting , waiting for the real topic to be discussed on this subject, that is "the moral purpose of tax on people"?

In recent modern times tax has been used for the defence of the realm as in recent wars, and since the beginning of the century increasingly more on education, health , welfare and pensions as well as infrastructure of transport, road, rail,air and water.

The moral question I have about all this is , should we have a taxation system heavily based on the taxation of individuals and businesses , when in real terms the tax is collected, in an unfair and inequitable way, with the taxes being avoided ,evaded,  and fraudulently abused by so many individuals and corporations, not to mention if the rates themselves are fair and equitable to all within society?

Surely, we need to look at how the monies are raised in the first place and any taxes levied should be on the long term sustainability and protection of the planet for future generations, rather than feeding the frenzy of the Free Market, and ensuring that these very resources we have left on the planet are being used at an ever increasing rate  with the resulting damage to the earth's eco systems that we all equally depend on for life itself.

Are we as a civilization so greedy that we cannot see the end game  and head like lemmings to the cliff edge and indeed start falling off the edge and the remainder still keep pushing  us all over untill few are left. The rich few will no doubt try to protect themselves  behind walls and hoard for the future , but what future will be left when all the workers have been pushed over the cliff.

The morals of taxation are to tax  the damage done to the planet , The "polluter should pay", Those that use the most should pay for the privilege by paying a truer price of those goods according to the damage they do to the planet.

Taxes like VAT,duties  and the council tax are the most effective ways of collecting tax with the least avoidance.

SO to be brief I believe we need to move from all existing taxes towards a tax on all natural resources based on the damage their extraction and use causes directly to the environment, planets ecosystems and mankind.
This collected as near to source as possible will result in the reduction of fraud evasion and avoidance, and if transparently collected will be more morally and ethically acceptable.

This sort of taxation empowers the individual to be responsible for their own future  and will encourage in the long term a real sense of ownership of the planets future.This linked with reform of the health and welfare system so that the individual has to pay for their own health and benefits from a citizens wage that would be for life.


The moral purpose of taxation , is to protect , provide real security, empower and educate the individual  for a real and long term future for us all.


Thank you all for your stimulating discussions and debates , but please look to the future, for our children , and not keep looking back at what could have been.


Yours david dunn 

http://climateguardian.blogspot.co.uk/
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