Like my views on many criminal justice issues, I’m a bit conflicted about this BBC story I saw on Drudge about a Swedish driver who is being fined about $1 million by Swiss authorities for driving 180 mph. This sounds absurd (and at some level, of course, it is), but if the idea of a fine is to deter speeders, then penalties based on income and/or wealth can be appropriate. On the other hand, I don’t like revenue-hungry politicians. I don’t like speed traps (though that’s presumably not an issue in this instance). And I don’t like class warfare policies designed to poke rich people in the eye for the sin of, well, being rich. Feedback is welcome, as always.
A Swedish motorist caught driving at 290km/h (180mph) in Switzerland could be given a world-record speeding fine of SFr1.08m ($1m; £656,000), prosecutors say. The 37-year-old, who has not been named, was clocked driving his Mercedes sports car at 170km/h over the limit. Under Swiss law, the level of fine is determined by the wealth of the driver and the speed recorded. In January, a Swiss driver was fined $290,000 – the current world record.
“Under Swiss law, the level of fine is determined by the wealth of the driver…”
So what is the formula? 1/3 of the annual taxes you paid in your home country?
Hi, Dan!
No, I don’t think it’s too much.
First of all, indexing towards income makes sense – it’s like a flat tax. It is fair. If a lump sum is established, say 200 euros, it does not represent a real punishment for a rich guy braking the rules. When deciding whether to go 200 mph endangering dozens of people on the road, his cost will be represented by the chance of being caught and a very modest fine compared to his wealth.
In other words, if he thinks he has an important job he’ll be more likely to brake the speed limits. Rich people also generally have much faster cars. You don’t see regular people going 180.
Punishing the rich would mean paying a bigger fraction of their income for the same crime.
The notion that this might have something to do with revenue-hungry politicians is not very correct. Depending on fines to fill the budget is too dumb even for them. And high fees will lead to less speeding, hence less fees.
Best!
Is the fine based on pre-tax or after-tax income? If it’s the former, that Swede is in trouble…
At first I thought this was absurd, but since I support the flat tax, I guess this — or at least the general concept — isn’t so outlandish.
[...] likelihood of getting caught and the severity of the punishment (which was the theory behind the famous $1 million fine for speeding in [...]
[...] Should rich people pay higher speeding fines? [...]
just make it simple everything is cost dependent on your income.
Make too much and want a movie ticket you pay more. Go fo dinner at a restaurant, they ask your income, grocery shopping, ask income
and it could go on and on, and some would call this fair, like those that think that the rich paying more and more, while others pay nothing in taxes is called paying fair share.
That is why Dr. Carson is so good, when he spoke of the Bible and Tithing, and that was on all at the same percentage rate. Simple, fair and everyone can understand the situation.
[...] Should rich people pay higher speeding fines? [...]
[...] Should rich people pay higher speeding fines? [...]