I’m not a fan of loopholes in the tax code. I’ve complained about the number of pages in the tax code, the number of provisions in the tax code, and I’ve even groused about the rising number of pages in the instruction manual for the 1040 tax form. And I’ve…
Daily Analysis
The New York Times Calls (again) for Higher Taxes on Middle-Class Americans
ll statists want much bigger government, but not all of them are honest about how to finance a Greek-sized welfare state. The President, for instance, wants us to believe that the rich are some sort of fiscal pinata, capable of generating endless amounts of tax…
The Tax Code Shouldn’t Steer Capital to State and Local Governments at the Expense of Private Investment
I’m a proponent of a pro-growth and non-corrupt tax code. I mostly write and talk about the flat tax, though I’d be happy to instead accept a national sales tax if we could somehow get rid of the 16th Amendment and replace it with something so ironclad that even…
Will GOP Fumble Away Guaranteed Sequester Victory?
Notwithstanding hysterical rhetoric from the White House, the bureaucracies, and the various pro-spending lobbies in Washington, the sequester does not mean “vicious” or “draconian” spending cuts. I wish that was the case. All it does is restrain spending so that it…
The OECD’s New Assault on Tax Competition Will Enable Higher Taxes and Bigger Government
Hardly anyone stands up for taxpayers. It’s the classic problem of concentrated interests and defused costs. Those who benefit from profligate government spending are strongly motivated to lobby for their pet handout. But every individual bit of waste only adds…
The Laffer Curve KO’s the IRS
What’s the revenue-maximizing tax rate? Since I’m interested in the growth-maximizing tax rate instead, I don’t think that’s even a legitimate question. That being said, it seems like everyone – both on the left and on the right – should agree that it makes no sense…
The Corrupt Nexus of Big Business and Big Government
I did a video several years ago on the link between big government and big corruption, and I periodically revisit the issue by citing disgusting examples of sleaze and cronyism ranging from the Export-Import Bank to the racial spoils scam in Alaska. The folks at Learn…
Special Employment Rights for Crooks: Our Tax Dollars at Work
As an economist with a boring personality (sorry to be redundant), I sometimes focus on numbers. And when contemplating the cost of regulation and red tape, there are some numbers that should frighten all of us. Americans spend 8.8 billion hours every year filling out…
Grilled about Cayman Investments, Jack Lew Chooses the I’m-a-Moron Defense
Every so often, you get a “teaching moment” in Washington, and we now have an excellent opportunity to educate lawmakers about the “offshore” world because President Obama’s nominee to be Treasury Secretary has been caught with his hand in the tax haven cookie jar….
Marketplace Fairness Act Targets Domestic Tax Competition
Like so many bad ideas in Washington, the recently introduced “Marketplace Fairness Act” has bipartisan support. But there’s nothing fair about allowing states to reach outside their borders to tax businesses headquartered elsewhere. In fact, the…