I agree with KN's point (let's assume for a moment that we agree on increasing the tax burden on very high income people).
Except in the case where the private cost of the consumption good is not meaningfully embedding a large social cost, raising taxes on a specific behavior is unnecessarily distortionary. It also requires the government to make a moralistic judgement call that I'm not comfortable with them doing.
Originally posted by KazetNagorraSo you would say "yes, Obama is stoking wealth envy"?
Having a seperate tax for a specific type of luxury good seems unneccarily complex to me, and doesn't appear to accomplish much. Rather, the government ought to increase the income tax the wealthy pay, a simple measure which requires little bureaucracy.
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Originally posted by techsouthIs he arguing in favour of a similar tax on private jets? Then yes.
So you would say "yes, Obama is stoking wealth envy"?
There is a similar discussion about bankers' bonuses in many European countries, where politicians often express outrage at bonuses, yet don't come up with simple proposals to increase the top marginal income tax rate (surely the right course of action if one is concerned about low-risk wage earners making lots of money).