Deconstructing why and how we pay our taxes

Every year around this time of the year my mind turns to tax as I start to do my own taxes.  I often grumble about taxes but I also realise that taxes are a necessary evil.  Any discussion about taxes and tax policy is filled with self interest and people looking out for themselves.

It is so hard to have a neutral discussion about taxes without people feeling that they are hard done by.  Low income tax earners point to the tax breaks that high income tax earners get and high tax payers point to the proportion of the tax system that they are funding.  Neither is wrong either...the tax system is far from perfect.

So what is the answer?

I recently saw a discussion piece by Vice News on this very topic and although it is very US centric the issues it discusses have a much broader appeal.  I found it incredibly enlightening and the people on the panel were experts in their field, able to leverage off each other for one of the best discussions on a complex topic that I have ever seen.

I cannot recommend this piece highly enough...enjoy!