Originally published on eve.gd on 5 May 2014.
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There's a meme going around at the moment (or at least internet post, if not a meme), which I think is pretty insidious. It reads as follows:
Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table
At which he's fed.
Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for peanuts
Anyway!
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.
Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.
Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.
Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won't be done
Till he has no dough.
When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He's good and sore.
Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he's laid.
When he's gone,
Do not relax,
It's time to apply
The inheritance tax.
Accounts Receivable Tax
Airline surcharge tax
Airline Fuel Tax
Airport Maintenance Tax
Building Permit Tax
Cigarette Tax
Cooking Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Goods and Services Tax (GST)
Death Tax
Driving Permit Tax
Environmental Tax (Fee)
Excise Taxes
Income Tax
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Petrol Tax (too much per litre)
Gross Receipts Tax
Health Tax
Heating Tax
Inheritance Tax
Interest Tax
Lighting Tax
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Mortgage Tax
Pension Tax
Personal Income Tax
Property Tax
Poverty Tax
Prescription Drug Tax
Real Estate Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Retail Sales Tax
Service Charge Tax
School Tax
Telephone Tax
Value Added Tax
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Water Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
Tax (VAT) on Tax.
And Now they want a blooming Carbon Tax!
STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?
Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was one of the most prosperous in the world... We had absolutely no national debt, had a large middle class,a huge manufacturing base, and Mum stayed home to raise the kids.
What in the Hell happened? Could it be the lying parasitic politicians wasting our money?
Oh, and don't forget the relatively new bank charges....
And we all know what we think of Bankers.
I hope this goes around the UK at least 1000 times!!!
YOU can help it get there!
Apart from the American-centrism ("Medicare tax") of this (followed by the "share around the UK" disjunct), it's also utter rubbish.
1. Inheritance tax, for just one example, has its roots in 1796 (in the UK) with Estate Duty being brought in in 1914 (i.e. 100 years ago)
2. In the fabled "good old days" to which this refers, populations were smaller and the number of government services provided lower -- this is clearly written by some psychopathic small-government fanatic who hates the idea of social security (which also didn't exist 100 years ago). The NHS has to be funded from somewhere
3. "And Now they want a blooming Carbon Tax!" is just climate change denial type rhetoric
4. "and Mum stayed home to raise the kids" -- really? Victorian-era treatment of women is something we look back on fondly?
5. I thought the "STILL THINK IT'S FUNNY" bit was going to explain some of this, or note corporate tax evasion is what we should be fighting, but no
In any case, I put this up as something to return to when my next Facebook acquaintance posts it.
Martin Paul Eve
Professor of Literature, Technology and Publishing
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