Taxes in a sustainable perspective

Taxes are an old phenomenon. And it is a concept that is not entirely positively etched in our memory. We know that at the beginning of our era people were already enriching themselves with taxes. Over the centuries, all kinds of administrators have made a mess of it. The common people sighed under the high tax burden and the high lords lived in luxury. Even in our modern age, it is not easy to deal with taxes. A minister or state secretary can just stumble across a (new) problem at the tax authorities.

The purpose of taxation is clear; we have common goals to achieve and must finance them. We support the collective interest with taxes.

There has always been a lot of discussion about questions such as: 'what is taxed on?' and 'how much tax?' It is also regularly said that a simpler system is desirable. It is also clearly visible that new cabinets are constantly adjusting the tax structure a bit. A little raise here, an extra charge there.

I think it's time for a different approach.

The new principle should be: 'the extent to which tax is levied is based on the social impact of the goods or service to be supplied'.

The social burden of various steps in the production chain will therefore have to be taxed according to a fair value. Air traffic will have to be taxed more heavily than train transport. Plastic heavier than paper, etc.

This will mean that local services and goods such as hairdressers or local organically grown vegetables are virtually tax-free. 'To the hairdresser' we do that nearby, but the green beans from Egypt will probably disappear from the shelf because of the imposed taxes.

It is of course impossible to make a fair and complete Life Cycle Analysis per product or service. However, based on criteria such as; distance production/consumption, added/used resources, health damage/environmental damage a system must be able to be set up. Many 'Alibaba products' then become expensive: from far away, not sustainable in use, not sustainably produced. And the hairdresser? It will finally be affordable again.