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It's irrational to think that will have no effect whatsoever.
Yes, it will certainly have some effect. Now, if taxes didn't exist, some ability to fund research would be lost too. I'm not convinced that the increased generosity would make up for that.Just for your puzzlement/horror:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8321967.stm
I'm not shocked, really. All governments are functionally owned by the wealthy citizens, and a good show of social solidarity would generally encourage the middle classes to not complain later if the wealthy are willing to put up now. Of course, the middle class is who pays for almost everything anyway, and the wealthy will get their taxes cut again later on, but it's always a horse and pony show anyway.