CorporateNature Metaphor Series, No 84
How much can you tax people in a country? The Laffer Curve shows that increasing taxes beyond a certain per cent is pointless. There is a tax rate at which tax revenue is maximised and raising taxes beyond that creates a disincentive for economic activity and, paradoxically, reduces the tax take.
The owners of rubber tree plantations and maple syrup farms know this and only take as much sap from the tree as it is able to yield without harming the tree or jeopardising its health. Similarly, bee keepers take honey from the bees but leave them with enough to last the winter. Otherwise they risk breaking the camel's back by burdening it with too much straw.
Yet, there are cases when the farmer takes all: chopping down a tree for firewood or slaughtering a pig for meat. This in the world of Government is not taxation at all; it is "nationalisation".
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| Latex sap collected from a rubbert tree, Thailand, March 2019 |
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