Allir eru jafnir fyrir skattinum - nema ....

Ég var að lesa hreint ótrúlega frétt á vef New York Times.  Það er kannski orðum aukið að hún sé ótrúleg, því miður má ef til vill segja að hún sé alltof sönn.

Fréttin fjallar um skattamál í Bandaríkjunum og þær undanþágur sem þarlendir stjórnmálamenn hafa búið til.  Lögmálið er auðvitað á þann veg að undanþágur hverfa sjaldnast, heldur er frekar nýjum bætt við, stundum með því fororði að það þurfi að jafna aðstöðu þeirra sem ekki hafa notið undanþága, til jafns við þá sem hafa notið þeirra. 

Hljómar kunnuglega?

Margir Bandarískir þingmenn eru sammála um að það þurfi að fækka þessum undanþágum, en ekki þeim sem þeir hafa persónulega staðið að, eða eru til hagsbóta fyrir einhverja í þeirra heimafylkjum.

Eitthvað sem má heimfæra upp á Íslenskar aðstæður?

En grípum nokkra góða kafla úr fréttinni:

Plenty of lawmakers are against tax breaks and so-called loopholes. Unless, of course, they personally helped create them.

The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, for instance, says he is open to ending tax breaks for special interests. But when it comes to a tax break he secured in 2008 for the owners of thoroughbred racehorses, he argues that the measure is essential for the protection of jobs in his home state of Kentucky.

Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, says he too wants to eliminate such breaks, except when it comes to beer. He is one of the main supporters of a proposal that would cut taxes for small beer makers like the Samuel Adams Brewery in Boston.

And Representative Paul D. Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican who leads the House Budget Committee, has privately assured one beer industry group that he would support a second proposed tax break for brewers, even as he has distanced himself publicly from the measure, the beer group’s chief operating officer said in an interview.

The disconnect between the lawmakers’ words and deeds reflects the political hurdles that Congress and the White House face as they look to cut at least $1.2 trillion from the national debt.

Örlítið síðar í fréttinni má lesa þetta:

The 71,000-page tax code has become loaded with dozens of obscure but economically valuable tax breaks. Nascar racetrack operators can speed up their write-offs for improvements to their facilities; makers of toy wooden arrows pay no excise tax; and Eskimo whaling captains get a charitable deduction of up to $10,000 for hunting blubber.

Multibillion-dollar operations like oil refineries, Hollywood productions and hedge funds have all profited. And there is little sign that the lawmakers who helped write the breaks into the tax code are willing to back away from them.

Heildartalan sem þessar undanþágur hljóða upp á er sláandi:

Tax breaks for industries both large and small add up to an estimated $123 billion a year — money that opponents see as lost revenue in austere times.

One of the few members of Congress willing to talk about specific breaks that could be abolished is Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma.

He released a 626-page report in June that included a section on what he considered to be dozens of needless tax breaks that were “little more than corporate welfare,” like vacation home deductions and special deals for the makers of fishing tackle boxes. He also ridiculed a bevy of loose guidelines that have allowed business deductions for cat food, toupees and breast implants for exotic dancers.

In contrast, President Obama has focused on a handful of tax breaks that are considered symbolically powerful, including credits for oil production and an accelerated depreciation for corporate jets.

“Do we keep tax loopholes for oil companies, or do we put teachers back to work?” Mr. Obama asked in a speech in the White House Rose Garden in September.

But members of Mr. Obama’s own party have backed many of the breaks. Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York was a leading proponent of the Nascar benefit, which helped a track in upstate New York; Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon helped push through the break for toy wooden arrow makers, which also benefited a manufacturer back home; and Mr. Kerry, who serves on the special Congressional committee that is trying to reduce the debt, has been a main driver behind the beer bill.

Það eitt að skattalögjöfin sé 71.000 síður segir sína sögu.  Það að undanþágur frá skatti nemi 123. milljörðum dollara gerir það ekki síður.

Skattalöggjöf á helst að vera einföld, gegnsæ og allir eiga að standa jafnir fyrir skattinum.  En sú er sjaldnast raunin og skattframtöl víða um lönd verða torskildari og flóknari með hverju árinu. 

Ég veit ekki að hve miklu leyti má færa þessa grein upp á Íslenskar aðstæður, en ég hefði gaman að heyra dæmi, ef einhver þekkir slík.

Eru laxveiðar ekki örugglega ennþá undanþegnar virðisaukaskatti á Íslandi?