Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, October 14, 2010
202-285-0244
www.freedomandprosperity.org
New CF&P Video Shows
Dangers of Value-Added Tax
(Washington, D.C., Wednesday, October 14, 2009) The Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation (CF&P) today released a new video showing that a value-added tax (VAT) would facilitate fiscal irresponsibility by opening a path for more federal spending. Entitled, The Value Added Tax: A Hidden New Tax to Finance Much Bigger Government, the video explains that a VAT would replicate Europe’s mistakes by giving politicians a new source of tax revenue.
The video demonstrates that VATs have historically led to a greater overall tax burden and massive increases in government spending. Perhaps most surprising, the video uses data from Western Europe to show that a VAT actually leads to higher income taxes, thus puncturing one of the main myths used by VAT proponents in the United States.
Links to the video: YouTube | Yahoo | Capitol Hub
The VAT video is the latest edition to CF&P’s highly-acclaimed educational video series and is narrated by the Cato Institute’s Dan Mitchell , who also serves as Chairman of CF&P’s Board.
“The evidence from Europe is clear. VATs are a money machine for more government spending,” said CF&P President Andrew Quinlan . “The crippling expansion of government in Europe over the last several decades was made possible by the VAT,” he added.
“Giving politicians this additional source of revenue would be like giving an alcoholic keys to a liquor store” noted Dan Mitchell. “The income tax system we have today is a nightmarish combination of class warfare and corrupt loopholes, but adding a VAT does not solve any of those problems,” he added.
Executive Summary
This Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation video explains why a value-added tax would be a dangerous money machine for big government. The evidence from Europe also shows that VATs actually lead to higher income taxes.
The following are the links to other CF&P Foundation videos including Tax Competition Primer, Global Flat Tax Revolution, Cutting the U.S. Corporate Income Tax, Promoting Prosperity, Obama’s So-Called Stimulus, Obama’s Deferral Proposal, Case Against Class-Warfare Tax Policy, a three part series on the Benefits of Tax Havens and a another three-part series on the Laffer Curve.
Link: http://www.freedomandprosperity.org/videos/videos.shtml
Web Links:
Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6JDpw8a2Hk
Yahoo
http://video.yahoo.com/watch/6192062/16074986
Capitol Hub
http://capitolhub.com/video/9240/value-added-tax-hidden-new-tax-finance-much-big ger-government
For additional comments:
Andrew Quinlan can be reached at 202-285-0244, andy@freedomandprosperity.org
Dan Mitchell can be reached at 202-218-4615, dmitchell@cato.org
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