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Should the wealthy pay more taxes?
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There's a moral obligation to look after the less privileged

The wealthy have the resources to significantly help those least advantaged. They should be obliged to do so.
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The Argument

In modern civilised societies there is a shared belief that humans are entitled to a certain standard of living and access to vital public services irrespective of their income or background. This fundamental principle is at the heart of most liberal democratic societies and relates to the belief that the needs of the individual should be super ceded by the needs of the community. This philosophy advocates that those with the greatest means should pay the highest amount of cost and this should be reflected in a modern tax system.

Counter arguments

In most societies the majority of tax is already paid by the wealthiest people, both directly through higher rates of income tax and indirectly through taxes on spending such as Value Added Tax (VAT). In the UK, the wealthiest one per cent account for third of all income tax. Any attempts to increase the tax burden on the wealthiest in society would be viewed as both divisive and unfair.

Premises

[P1] People deserve a certain standard of living. [P2] The wealthy have significant expendable income. [P3] The wealthy should have to pay more in taxes to ensure all in society have an acceptable standard of living.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P3] The wealthy already pay more in tax.

References

This page was last edited on Friday, 17 Apr 2020 at 12:00 UTC

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