《在英国充满权衡的税收制度中，没有免费的午餐》——12月26日英国《卫报》
作者：丽塔·德拉费里亚——利兹大学税法系主任，也是智库ReImagine Europa系列讲座的撰稿人
更公平、更环保的税收是可能的，但首先我们必须消除围绕在辩论四周的虚假信息。
2023 年 12 月 26 日周二 11.00 GMT
In Britain’s trade-off laden tax system there’s no such thing as a free lunch
Rita de la Feria
Fairer, greener taxation is possible but first we have to dispel myths that surround the debates
Tue 26 Dec 2023 11.00 GMT
trade-off：n. 权衡;(在需要而又相互对立的两者间的)协调;
laden： 满载的;(用于构成形容词)充满…的，装载…的;充满的(尤指充满令人不快的东西);载满的，装满的;负担沉重的，苦恼的;
greener：更环保的；
dispel：vt. 消除(尤指感觉或信仰);驱散;
myths：神话;神话故事;荒诞的说法;不真实的事;虚构的东西;
说实话：没有人喜欢纳税。我们大多数人（不情愿地）这样做，因为我们明白，它们的核心是汇集的概念：我们都做出贡献，以便公共服务在我们需要的时候出现。这样我们生病时就能得到医疗保健，这样当我们报案时就会有人挺身而出，这样我们的孩子就能得到良好的教育。如果我们觉得这些公共服务运作良好，我们的税收道德（我们纳税意愿的技术术语）往往会很高。当我们不这么觉得的时候，我们的纳税意愿就会降低。
Let’s be honest: no one likes to pay taxes. Most of us do it (reluctantly) because we understand that at their core is the concept of pooling: we all contribute, so that public services are there when we need them. So that we get healthcare when we are ill, so that there is someone at the end of the line when we report a crime, so that our kids get a good education. If we feel that these services function well, our tax morale – the technical term for our willingness to pay taxes – tends to be high. When we don’t, our willingness to pay decreases.
pool：vt. 集中资源(或材料等);
tax morale:税收道德;
When waiting times for adequate healthcare run into years, when schools close because of a lack of safe facilities, when you report a crime but no one comes, the allure of the tax cut – always there, always present – becomes nearly irresistible. The little devil on top of your shoulder is telling you that taxes are too high already, and “What are you paying for anyway?” If those tax cuts are accompanied by a promise that public services will (magically) also improve, so much the better.
当等待足够的医疗保健时间长达数年时，当学校因缺乏安全设施而关闭时，当您报告犯罪但没有人来管时，减税的诱惑力——一直存在，始终存在——变得几乎不可抗拒。你肩膀上的小恶魔告诉你，税收已经太高了，“你到底要为什么纳税呢？如果这些减税伴随着公共服务也将（神奇地）改善的承诺，那就更好了。
allure：诱惑;引诱;吸引人;勾引诱人;
irresistible：adj. 不可抗拒的;无法抵制的;不可遏止的;忍不住想要的;极诱人的;
so much the better：那样就更好了；
在内心深处，我们知道天下没有免费的午餐。我们知道，我们不可能同时拥有出色的斯堪的纳维亚式公共服务和低税收负担。尽管最近有所增加，但根据经合组织的最新数据，目前英国的税收负担与其他富裕国家相比仍略低于平均水平，远低于法国、德国或丹麦等其他西欧国家的税收。但是我们非常想要吃蛋糕，以至于我们会坚持任何可能的合理化。
Deep down we know that there is no such thing as a free lunch. We know that we cannot have both outstanding Scandinavian-style public services and a low tax-burden. Despite recent increases, according to the latest OECD data, at present the UK tax burden is still slightly below average when compared with other wealthy countries, and substantially lower than the taxation of other western European states such as France, Germany or Denmark. But we want so much to have our cake and eat it that we will cling on to any possible rationalisation.
Deep down 词典 在内心深处，在心底（知道）;
outstanding：adj. 优秀的;突出的;杰出的;出色的;重要的;未完成的;明显的;未解决的;未支付的;
substantially：adv. 基本上;大体上;非常;大大地;总的来说;
cling on：坚持，固守；
rationalisation： 合理化;理性化;
关于税收，鲜为人知的痛苦事实是，从来就没有简单的答案。税收和现实一样，是复杂且充满权衡的。首先，也是最重要的一点是，一般来说，我们得到的是我们所付出的：较低的税收，较低的公共服务标准;高标准的服务，更高的税收。但还有更多的权衡取舍。
The rarely told, painful truth about taxes is that there are never simple answers. Taxes, like reality, are complex and full of trade-offs. The first, and most important of all, is that generally we get what we pay for: lower taxation, lower standard of public services; high standard of services, higher taxes. But there are many more trade-offs.
rarely told：鲜为人知的；
trade-off：权衡；
generally：adv. 通常;一般地;大体上;大概;广泛地;概括地;普遍地;笼统地;通常地;
我们应该有一个有竞争力的税收制度。吸引投资，创造就业机会，鼓励经济增长。似乎不费吹灰之力，对吧？嗯，但事实并非如此。首先，这并不容易，因为世界上几乎每个政府都在遵循相同的战略。因此，为了保持竞争力，各国往往必须提供更大的税收优惠。这导致了过去十年来全球改革一直试图阻止的公司税，达到了触及底线竞争的程度。
We should have a competitive tax system. Attract investment, create jobs, encourage economic growth. Seems like a no-brainer, right? Well, it isn’t. First, it is not easy because almost every government in the world is following the same strategy. So in order to remain competitive, countries must often offer ever greater tax advantages. This has led to a race to the bottom in corporate taxation that global reforms have been trying to stop for the last decade.
competitive：adj. 竞争的;有竞争力的;(比…)更好的;(与…)一样好的;努力竞争的;一心求胜的;
no-brainer：n. 无需用脑的事;容易的决定，不费力就能做的事情;
greater tax advantages：更大的税收优惠；
race to the bottom：打到底线的竞争
其次，即使假设我们赢得了比赛，仍然需要权衡取舍。在竞争中，总是有输家：我们赢了，其他人就会输。如果其他国家没有得到投资，或者没有获得可以促进经济增长或改善公共服务的税收收入，那么，年轻人感到有必要移民到更富裕的国家寻求更好的生活，我们就不会感到惊讶。当然，这并不全与税收有关。但是，全球税收政策与移民流动之间存在着联系，而我们往往选择忽视这一点。
Second, even assuming that we win that competition, there are still trade-offs. In a competition there are always losers: for us to win, others will lose. If other countries are not getting investment, or not getting the tax revenues that can increase their economic growth or improve public services, then we cannot be surprised that young people feel the need to migrate to richer countries in search of a better life. Of course, it is not all about taxes. But there is a link between global tax policy and migration flows, which we all too often choose to ignore.
migration flows：移民流动；
我们需要一个更公平的税收制度。很少有人会不同意。但我们首先需要就公平达成一致，而这并不像看起来那么容易。即使我们假设公平是指减少不平等，这在哲学和政治上是分裂的，但存在许多不平等。最明显的是收入不平等，还有性别、种族等。但是我们应该优先考虑哪个呢？
We need a fairer tax system. Few would disagree. But we first need to agree on fairness, and that is not as easy as it appears. Even if we assume that by fair we mean decreasing inequality, which is philosophically and politically divisive, there are many inequalities. Most obviously income inequality, but also gender, race, etc. But which should we prioritise?
inequality：n. 不平等;不平衡;不平均;
philosophically：哲学上;哲学性的;哲学地;
divisive：adj. 分裂的;引起分歧的;造成不和的;
race：血统，种族；
prioritise：v. 给予…优先权;按优先顺序处理;出轻重缓急;把事情按优先顺序排好（等于prioritize）;
税收制度还应鼓励向可持续和更绿色的经济过渡。在COP28协议的中间，可持续性和环境保护是关键的优先事项，因此利用税收制度来实现这些目标似乎是显而易见的。
The tax system should also encourage the transition to a sustainable and greener economy. In the middle of the Cop28 agreement, sustainability and environmental protection are key priorities, so using the tax system to achieve those aims seems obvious.
唉，有取舍。旨在保护环境的税收措施往往会对全球和国内收入最低的人群造成最严重的打击。最近，生活成本危机暴露了这一点，英国随后决定降低能源产品税，就像许多其他欧洲国家一样。该措施旨在保护低收入人群，但产生了明显的环境和地缘政治后果：我们对化石燃料的消费给予了税收激励，这可能会增加对俄罗斯天然气的依赖。也许，在那个时候，保护最贫穷和最脆弱的人是最重要的。这也许是可以理解的;然而，更不重要的事实是，无论是英国政府还是其他国家政府，似乎都不愿意承认这种权衡。
Alas, there are trade-offs. Tax measures designed to protect the environment will often hit those on the lowest incomes hardest – globally and domestically. This was recently exposed by the cost of living crisis, and the consequent decision in the UK – as in many other European countries – to lower taxes on energy products. The measure was designed to protect those on lower incomes, but had obvious environmental and geopolitical consequences: we gave a tax incentive to the consumption of fossil fuels, potentially increasing dependency on Russian gas. It may be that, at that moment in time, protection of the poorest and the most vulnerable was most important. That perhaps is understandable; less so, however, is the fact that no government, neither the UK’s nor others, seemed willing to even acknowledge this trade-off.
Alas：哎呀：
geopolitical：adj. 地缘政治学的;