Taxing the rich

One problem with taxing the rich is that both they, and their income and assets, can often move around. They also have the incentive, and the resources, to keep up with the tax laws and exploit every mistake that gets made when they are composed by some sleep-deprived Yale political science major policy wonk at 2 AM, just short minutes before they get voted into law.

Example 1: Rolling Stones

Example 2: Famous athletes

The second example is doubly troubling as apparently the UK government has given up on the rule of law in this policy area, setting tax rates for events based on the whim of some bureaucrat at HM Treasury (or, more likely, based on the gifts received by some politician).

Dammit! Why won't people just lay there and take it like they are supposed to?

Via: Mankiw and Marginal Revolution