Philosophy
If someone donates all of the proceeds from some work, say an author donates his royalties from a book or a chef donates a meal, to a worthy cause, we think it is surely a good act. Suppose the person then claims the donation on their taxes. does that make the act less worthy? Does it do moral damage? The person will reap less of a reward from the deduction, than s/he sacrificed for the cause. The cause gets not a bit less support if the person claims the donation. Yet, it does seem that personal reward of any kind undermines the good will.
This triggers a second question: would knowingly not reporting deductions you know you are entitled to be lying? If you claimed deductions you are not entitled to, that would clearly be lying; but if you choose not to claim ones, thereby intentionally providing incomplete data, how would that be different? Is it not a lie if you are harmed not benefited?
- When Are You Owed An Apology?
I find it fascinating that in the light of the political dust-up about Mitt Romney's work and filed forms about Bain Capital that Romney has demanded an apology from the President. It leads to the general question about the grounds that would...
- The Problems With Herman Cain's 999 Plan
So, Herman Cain has his 999 plan that completely reworks the tax code. He would replace the progressive income tax with a flat 9% income tax, a 9% national sales tax, and a 9% corporate tax. Take away the deductions, the loopholes, make it flat and simple....
- Intuition And Truth
Had lunch with Jeff Maynes yesterday and we got to talking about his research in experimental philosophy. In philosophy, topics we deal with are often not open to empirical investigation. Therefore, we often use intuitions as data. This is frequently...
- When Is Lying Lying?
A great post over at Dispatches From the Culture Wars, in which Ed Brayton tells the following wonderful story:About 10 or 12 years ago I was playing poker at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. At the table with me was an older gentleman from South Carolina...
- What's So Bad About Dying?
We lost Joe Frazier and Heavy D this week. Clearly, we?re all sad that they?re no longer with us. Their deaths represent a harm to us. But were they harmed by their deaths? Contrary to popular opinion, the Epicureans argued that death is not a harm....
Philosophy
Tax Ethics
If someone donates all of the proceeds from some work, say an author donates his royalties from a book or a chef donates a meal, to a worthy cause, we think it is surely a good act. Suppose the person then claims the donation on their taxes. does that make the act less worthy? Does it do moral damage? The person will reap less of a reward from the deduction, than s/he sacrificed for the cause. The cause gets not a bit less support if the person claims the donation. Yet, it does seem that personal reward of any kind undermines the good will.
This triggers a second question: would knowingly not reporting deductions you know you are entitled to be lying? If you claimed deductions you are not entitled to, that would clearly be lying; but if you choose not to claim ones, thereby intentionally providing incomplete data, how would that be different? Is it not a lie if you are harmed not benefited?
- When Are You Owed An Apology?
I find it fascinating that in the light of the political dust-up about Mitt Romney's work and filed forms about Bain Capital that Romney has demanded an apology from the President. It leads to the general question about the grounds that would...
- The Problems With Herman Cain's 999 Plan
So, Herman Cain has his 999 plan that completely reworks the tax code. He would replace the progressive income tax with a flat 9% income tax, a 9% national sales tax, and a 9% corporate tax. Take away the deductions, the loopholes, make it flat and simple....
- Intuition And Truth
Had lunch with Jeff Maynes yesterday and we got to talking about his research in experimental philosophy. In philosophy, topics we deal with are often not open to empirical investigation. Therefore, we often use intuitions as data. This is frequently...
- When Is Lying Lying?
A great post over at Dispatches From the Culture Wars, in which Ed Brayton tells the following wonderful story:About 10 or 12 years ago I was playing poker at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. At the table with me was an older gentleman from South Carolina...
- What's So Bad About Dying?
We lost Joe Frazier and Heavy D this week. Clearly, we?re all sad that they?re no longer with us. Their deaths represent a harm to us. But were they harmed by their deaths? Contrary to popular opinion, the Epicureans argued that death is not a harm....