There may be something called imaginary taxes. That is not what I propose to discuss.
What I propose to discuss is the idea of taxes that my lefty friends hold dearly. They seem to live with the conception that taxes have no effect on people, corporations or behavior.
With complete abandon, Democrats propose increasing taxes on a wide range of objects from cigarettes to income and presume little or no effect. These taxes are what I call imaginary taxes.
In every case that I have ever looked at taxes, I find they have effects. Sometimes large sometimes small. State income taxes drive out wealthy people if the taxes are sufficiently progressive. They also create highly volatile state revenue because people in the top income tier have volatile income.
Cigarette taxes do not punish cigarette producers. They are direct taxes on poor people who are disproportionately smokers. Taxes on cigarettes make poor people poorer.
Whenever people can escape taxes by moving or changing their behavior they do. Taxes are not imaginary, despite everything lefties and Democrats try to make people believe.
Furthermore, the incidence of taxes is never obvious and often perverse. A tax increase of any sort should be short-term and subject to careful research about the outcome and incidence.
Addendum: the latest Democrat proposal last week that a reproductive insurance burden can be passed from anyone (churches) to an insurance company shows serious contempt for Americans' intelligence.