Tax Update Blog: Permalink

« Previous · Tax Update Blog Home · Next »

HOW TAXATION CAN CAUSE HAPPINESS

June 07, 2005

Humorist P.J. O'Rourke has a proposal with the potential to cut the gordian knot of tax reform and the budget deficit, while pleasing the rest of us no end.

I suggest, therefore, a Celebrity Tax with a low-end base rate of, mmm, 100 percent. Furthermore, let's make the tax progressive to get some Democrats on board. (Probably not including Hillary, Ted, and Barney Frank. They'll be working nights and weekends to pay up.) Given the modest talent of current celebrities and the immodest example they set for impressionable youth, we'll call it a "Value Subtracted Tax," or, better, a "Family Value Subtracted Tax." And it will be calculated on the celebrity's net worth.

We can quit worrying about the federal deficit, at least for this year. Forbes estimates that Oprah alone has assets of $1 billion. True, we need another $411 billion to close the budget gap. But optimism is kindled by a flip through People. I had no idea there were so many notoriety nuisances.

Let's hope the Tax Reform Commission is listening.

Of course, that will deeply impact the revenues of any cosmetic surgery tax.

Hat tip: TaxProf Blog.

      Bookmark: del.icio.us • Digg • reddit