Savings is philanthropy
Published by Yazad Jal December 10th, 2004 in EconomicsSteven Landsburg writes in praise of Ebenezer Scrooge and miserliness.
In this whole world, there is nobody more generous than the miser—the man who could deplete the world’s resources but chooses not to. The only difference between miserliness and philanthropy is that the philanthropist serves a favored few while the miser spreads his largess far and wide.(snip)
Saving is philanthropy, and—because this is both the Christmas season and the season of tax reform—it’s worth mentioning that the tax system should recognize as much. If there’s a tax deduction for charitable giving, there should be a tax deduction for saving. What you earn and don’t spend is your contribution to the world, and it’s equally a contribution whether you give it away or squirrel it away.
Related article on AnarCapLib: The good Mr. Scrooge
Yazad
“If there’s a tax deduction for charitable giving, there should be a tax deduction for saving”
Don’t tax benefits given for investing under certain schemes in India amount to the same? In effect, the Kelkar committee idea of removing these sops goes against this, doesn’t it?