There’s an old joke about the revised short form 1040. It has just two steps:
- Write down the total of your wages, royalties, interest, dividends, and other income.
- Send it in!
In an instance of reality imitating waggery a British official has suggested that all paychecks be sent not from employers to employees but directly to the government:
The UK’s tax collection agency is putting forth a proposal that all employers send employee paychecks to the government, after which the government would deduct what it deems as the appropriate tax and pay the employees by bank transfer.
The proposal by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) stresses the need for employers to provide real-time information to the government so that it can monitor all payments and make a better assessment of whether the correct tax is being paid.
Well, yes, that would ensure that the proper amounts are being deducted. Or at least that some amount was being deducted.
But wait! It’s also the perfect solution to whatever problem is posed by income inequality. The government could then return exactly the same amount to each individual. It’s so simple.
