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The pity is hearing statements like this. Do you truly believe that the reason we don't have what you'd consider a fairer tax system is because politicians tend to be upper class?
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Hell no, but inertia from those who would suffer under such a system i'm sure if a signifigant factor, but so is a signifigant lack of consensus.
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Then you have what amounts to a regressive tax, where people who have little money and essentially live paycheck to paycheck, spending almost all they have, pay a higher percentage of their income on tax than people who are able to save some away. Although I don't know too much about the VAT and GST systems, and surely they've found ways around this.. do those taxes completely replace income tax?
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Firstly i'm not *entirely* sure about the UK but i know here they don't entirely replace income tax. We have a flat 10% GST with some items such as basic foodstuffs exempted and progressive income tax that goes up to 49%. They do remove wholesale tax though. Having both evens out some of the unfairness of both, which relates to your first point.
As for avoidance, there are of course various tricks around it but they are harder to do, and because you are dealing with *everything* you buy it is far harder to avoid.
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No, it's not about how much they can. I think should is a bit closer. They can contribute about all of it, but that doesn't mean they should have to.
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Point taken
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But we shouldn't try to find creative new ways to gouge the rich.
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Yes we bloody well should, because as it stands they gouge us and pay buggar all tax. Unless i make it big in which case......