Ronald Reagan used to make the point that businesses don’t actually pay taxes, but that the customer who buys whatever goods and services are produced by the business are the ones who pay any business related taxes. The businesses pass along any tax as a cost of doing business.
And Ronald Reagan was attacked for making that point, because he was allegedly in bed with big business and against the “little guy”.
But the laws of economics are as immutable as the laws of physics. No business can stay in business indefinitely if they aren’t making a profit. And they can’t just “eat it” if gov’t comes along and decides to levy new taxes against business. Whether it’s payroll taxes on the hired help, business license fees, property taxes, exise taxes, or any other tax, you the customer, are paying those taxes through higher prices on everything you buy.
So true, yet the Dim-O-RATS can’t understand that. They think tax payments comes out of some hidden corporate stash.
“The businesses pass along any tax as a cost of doing business.”
People say that all the time, but there’s a huge problem with it. A monopoly could sure pass along any tax increase, or any other increase in expenses. But in a competitive economy, what if one producer of a good or service is much more efficient than another producer of the same good or service? The inefficient producer probably can’t pass along tax increases because the increased price would make him less competitive, or non-competitive with his more efficient competitor.
Can a corporation also, automatically pass on all increases in salary and wages, in material or raw material costs, and all the other expense of doing business.
It’s a myth, or a half-truth at best, that any and every increase in business operating expenses can be passed on to the consumer.
And, also, if taxes increases can be passed on, on and on, why all talk about reducing corporate taxes? How would that make corporations more competitive if they can just pass the increases on?
They can’t just pass the increases on automatically.
Only a certified moron would even begin to believe a business doesn’t pass on every cent of any tax it is forced to pay.
Here ya go...
"In my country some 25 years ago, you could make a long-distance call on a privately owned telephone system from San Francisco to New York for $28. For that same amount of money, you could send 1,376 letters. Today, you can make the same telephone call for $2.50 and for that amount you can only send 41 letters. So the government is investigating the Bell system!" -- Ronald W. Reagan, February 2, 1970