Well, right now both incomes and consumption are taxed. So, what's the point ?

Un roi sans divertissement est un homme plein de misères

Tax unearned income: inheritance and gifts.

A vivid image of what should exist acts as a surrogate for reality. Pursuit of the image then prevents pursuit of the reality -- John K. Galbraith

Wealth being "delayed consumption" is, at best, only partly valid in its application to holdings of debt. But yes, Double Taxation is a bad thing.

Since when was private property in the "Wealth" of land, non-renewables, intellectual property, and shares in joint stock corporations - which constitutes a huge part of our stock of wealth - "delayed consumption"?

Taxation of the privilege of private property in land eg a "Location Benefit Levy" or a tax on land rental values, is perhaps the simplest, and certainly least avoidable, tax there is.

Even Milton Friedman said it was the "least bad" tax, and Martin Wolf - no pinko subversive, he - was suggesting it again in the FT only a day or so ago.

Likewise Corporation Tax should be abolished (double taxation again) and replaced by a "Limited Liability Levy" on gross corporate revenues, collected at the transaction clearing level.

Such a tax on the privilege of limitation of liability would again be simple, equitable, and unavoidable.

"The future is already here -- it's just not very evenly distributed" William Gibson