“Once you have an equalization instrument in place, as you have in Canada, there arise tremendous bureaucratic values - bureaucratic rent so to speak - in maintaining the system that you have. To shift to a system that paid the transfers directly to individuals, by having differential rates of federal income tax levied to adjust to provincial fiscal capacities, which would be my preference, you would have huge bureaucratic opposition. People would try to protect the rents they have in the current system of institutions.” PeopleTryingWould BeValuesIndividualSpeakHugeProtectTaxesCapacityPaidInstitutionsInstrumentsRateCurrentsIncomeAriseCanadaOppositionPreferenceMaintainingTransfersIncome Tax Author:James M. Buchanan
“You can get a coalition of senators from particular states in America, for example, who want to construct highways or dams or ports which may well be very inefficient. The taxes would be paid by the people over the whole country, but the benefits would go to the few people in those particular locations. This type of spending is a rather gross waste of resources that worsened over the years as the government has been allowed to do more particularized things.” PeopleWantYearsWellsMayHas BeensCountryStatesWholeGovernmentWould BeAmericaExampleParticularTypeTaxesWasteBenefitsResourcesPaidSpendingSenatorsLocationConstructsGrossHighwaysPortCoalitionsDams Author:James M. Buchanan
“If this taxation exemptions for Church were rescinded, our property taxes would be substantially lowered, and those who rent houses and apartments would consequently be able to pass along this savings in the form of lowered rents. It could have a profoundly salubrious effect on the entire economy.” IfsWould BeAbleFormHouseChurchEconomyEffectsTaxesPropertySavingApartmentTaxationSavingsExemptionProperty Taxes Author:Madalyn Murray O'Hair