Vitalik Buterin
@vitalik.eth
Things that are enjoyable are often also likely to be status symbols: https://stefanfschubert.com/blog/2022/4/6/status-as-a-multiplier-on-intrinsic-enjoyment In my experience far from always true: the status seems to persist much longer than the enjoyment - but still, it's an interesting argument for...
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Vitalik Buterin
@vitalik.eth
... why high sales taxes are likely to be an actually not-that-inefficient form of taxation. I can't find it anymore but I saw a result once suggesting that, taking status effects into account, the optimal sales tax might be around 40%.
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✳️ dcposch on daimo
@dcposch.eth
A blanket 40% sales tax would be very hard on the working class, no? Unless you offset it with EITC or some other kind of negative income tax
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Vitalik Buterin
@vitalik.eth
I guess when I mentally think about tweaking tax policy I by default subconsciously attach a per-person rebate that makes it inequality-neutral.
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Mac Budkowski ᵏ
@macbudkowski
I think we could use the VAT model we have in Europe, where different kinds of goods has different rates. So e.g., books might have 0% sales tax, same with food, had or medicine. But private jets and mansions might be taxed differently.
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Vitalik Buterin
@vitalik.eth
I agree this is underexplored, though it does have the challenge that categories are often fuzzy and it could create incentives to pay large costs and hire lots of lawyers + lobbyists to shift your product into a different category (see: stuff like this https://www.astonshaw.co.uk/news/jaffa-cake-tax/ )
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