Voluntary Income Tax Alternative
An idea
I've had for some time. What if the people who want to pay tax for
(contribute to) government services they approve of and want were able
to pay voluntarily? What if compulsory income tax (the present system,
based on government by coercion) were replaced by voluntary income tax,
based on government by agreement? What if revenue-collecting departments
like the IRS adopted the methods of nonprofit fundraisers rather than law enforcers?
By posting monthly online lists of who paid and how much, and who
didn't, they could exert the power of peer pressure - name and praise
coupled with name and shame - to encourage contributions/donations to
keep services funded, rather than using the courts to enforce payments.
I'm not talking about the libertarian idea of small government and 'the
devil take the hindmost'. Government can be as big as it needs to be to
meet the people's demands and be a true servant of the people, a civil
service.
During WWII governments asked people to buy war bonds. They
were sold to willing buyers, not imposed under threat of legal action.
I know VITA could not be implemented without a sea change in the
culture of governments like the IRS, or huge nerve by the administration
to trust the people, but I bet it would be popular with the people.
VITA, catchy little name, isn't it?
