More for the taxman (and less for the rest of us)

The Times reports that tax inspectors are being offered bonuses related to the amount of money collected.

It seems that job satisfaction isn't enough - the respect of your fellow man, the pleasure of a job well done, the happiness brought to your customers. Nor is a decent wage. To do their job properly, they need to be incentivised to collect as much as possible. After all, we don't want tax collectors collecting only what is reasonable, do we? We want them trying to screw every penny they can out of businesses. And recent experience of tax inspectors has shown what a slack job they have been doing - almost throwing money at businesses in their generosity.

Only in Gordon's parallel universe can this description sound true and this idea make sense. In the modern day, at least. He would have felt right at home with Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham. His tax collectors are already behaving like there's a crusade and a king's ransom to pay for.

For why this is a really stupid idea (if it isn't completely obvious), see my recent post on wage-levels on this site, and particularly Ludwig von Mises' crystal clear explanation, quoted there, of why one cannot run a bureaucracy like one runs a business.