When considering tax fairness, we should ask: What exactly is a tax?

Mon, Mar. 03, 2008 10:15 PM | 'Individual mandate' in health-care proposals might as well be called a tax | By JON HALL | Guest columnist

When considering tax fairness, we should ask: What exactly is a tax?

Government mandates businesses to pay for their employees’ unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation and other benefits. These payments burden businesses just as surely as if the payments were made directly to the government — a tax by another name. And if businesses fail to comply with government mandates, they can be dealt with like any tax scofflaw. ...