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Small-Scale Question Sunday for April 13, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Fundamentally, because it’s easier to avoid paying a tariff than to avoid paying a corporate tax.

Why is a corporate tax a better way to raise money than a tax on, for example, jogging? Because if it’s big enough, people will simply stop jogging, and in the end the state will have no money, plus a semi-pleasurable activity will be prohibited. You are strictly worse off than before you started.

In a world where every state tried to finance itself entirely with tariffs, foreign trade and state revenue would drop to near-zero. In contrast, corporate tax world would be similar to our world.