Taxes in the digicash world

[jim bell]

At 06:17 AM 7/30/96 -0500, Igor Chudov @ home wrote:
>Hi
>
>Suppose that digital cash becomes easy enough to use and becomes the
>mainstream medium in most [or at least many] economic transactions.
>
>The question is, how can the government TECHNICALLY collect taxes?
>I do not mean to start `libertarianism vs. socialism' discussion, I
>am more interested in the technical aspects of tax collection when
>transfers of money are protected by strong crypto..
>
>Let's say, maybe this tax would work: every time someone verifies that
>a piece of digital cash is valid, s/he has to pay the government a little
>percentage of the amount. Since digital banks are easier to control than
>other participants of the market, this kind of tax legislation is easier to
>enforce.

If, for every $1 somebody paid in taxes, he instead (or, in addition to) 
paid 10 cents to a fund to eliminate the tax collectors, at the end of that 
year he wouldn't be paying any taxes anymore.  That's why AP will work so well.


Jim Bell
jimbell at pacifier.com