The “Small” Solution to a Big Tax Problem by Marc Faber

If the government levies taxes on landowners, retailers, corporations, and individuals, it is far from certain that the targeted interest groups will actually pay the tax. Depending on a variety of factors, they may be able to roll over or shift the tax to other people (tenants, consumers, workers, etc.) either partly or entirely. As Alfred Marshall said: “There is scarcely any economic principle which cannot be aptly illustrated by a discussion of the shifting of the effects of some taxes.”

The Swedish Nobel Laureate, economist, sociologist, and politician Karl Gunmar Myrdal also contended that the results of taxes can “diverge greatly” from the intentions. (All government interventions in free markets lead to unintended consequences.) This was already obvious to David Ricardo, who commented: “Almost all taxes on production fall finally on the consumer.”

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