There has been extensive discussion recently about how to get the wealthy to pay their fair share of taxes. However, the whole concept of “fair share” taxing is suspect, and a value judgment.

We should return to the original purpose of taxation – to raise revenue so that government can function. There will be disagreement on what functions government should provide and who should pay for them, but taxes are going to raise the revenue in our society.

Other societies have raised revenues other ways. Wars of conquest were a way of generating revenue. More recently, governments appropriated assets of foreign-owned companies. But nobody ever intended a country without resources to bolster government coffers. There had to at least be people to enslave.

With taxation, we should follow Willie Sutton’s motto: Tax the wealthy because that’s where the money is. Don’t try to put moral high ground on it, government just needs the money, and the rich have it.

A policy designed to put the rich in their pace place is going to have more unintended consequences than one that shears the sheep and doesn’t try to skin them.

For example, an annual tax on total net worth will lead to asset migration and loss of jobs – not a good side effect.

The proposed tax on income over $200,00 probably is fine, though I don’t know how much revenue it’s going to raise.

I don’t claim to know the ideal tax structure, but if we start out with social equity as the goal rather than revenue generation, we’re going to just screw things up. We’ll wind up with a system as loophole-ridden as what we have – just different loopholes.

Please, leave the moral arguments out of it, and get on with the shearing – and do it so that the sheep don’t leave town with the wool.

DAVID CHULJIAN

Port Townsend