In previous posts, I’ve expressed pessimism about the future of the United Kingdom, largely because all political parties have a statist mentality. I criticized Gordon Brown, the former Labor Party Prime Minister, for being a compulsive redistributionist, big spender,…
Daily Analysis
Exposing the Absurdity of Washington’s Anti-Sequester Hysteria
To save America from the supposedly “savage” and “draconian” budget cuts caused by sequestration, President Obama has instead asked Congress to approve an alternative fiscal package containing additional tax increases. So why is the sequester so bad? Does it slash the…
US Relying on the Ignorance of Foreign Governments to Propel FATCA Fiscal Imperialism
I wrote recently about the need to draw a line in the sand on FATCA. Long story short, if current efforts to form an international tax cartel are not halted immediately, we can look forward to a future with a bleak economic outlook due to depressed worldwide…
Is Anybody Surprised that the First Bottle of Tax Booze Didn’t Cure the Spendaholics?
Those of you old enough to remember the Cold War may remember something called the Brezhnev Doctrine. This was the rule concocted by the Soviet tyrants that basically said a nation could never regain freedom once it fell under communist rule. In my simple way of…
The 100th Anniversary of the Income Tax…and the Lesson We Should Learn from that Mistake
What’s the worst thing about Delaware? No, not Joe Biden. He’s just a harmless clown and the butt of some good jokes. Instead, the so-called First State is actually the Worst State because 100 years ago, on this very day, Delaware made the personal income tax possible…
Rather than Helping the Poor, Higher Tax Rates Redistribute Rich People
Daniel Hannan is a member of the European Parliament from England. He is one of the few economically sensible people in that body, as demonstrated in these short clips of him speaking about tax competition and deriding the European Commission’s corrupt racket. And as…
The Great Hillsdale College Debate: Flat Tax or Fair Tax?
I’m at Hillsdale College in Michigan for a conference on taxation. The event is called “The Federal Income Tax: A Centenary Consideration,” though I would have called it something like “100 Years of Misery from the IRS.” I’m glad to be here, both because Hillsdale…
With Final FATCA Rules Released, It’s Now Or Never
Last week the Treasury Department finally released the oft delayed final rules for the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. The 544 pages of rules seem to offer little in the way of surprises, but they do confirm that FATCA remains “the worst law most Americans…
California’s One-Man Laffer Curve
I’ve already condemned the foolish people of California for approving a referendum to raise the state’s top tax rate to 13.3 percent. This impulsive and misguided exercise in class warfare surely will backfire as more and more productive people flee to other states –…
Based on a Review of Studies Looking at the Impact of Taxes on Growth, Academic Research Gives Obama a Record of 0-23-3
How do you define a terrible team? No, this isn’t going to be a joke about Notre Dame foolishly thinking it could match up against a team from the Southeastern Conference in college football’s national title game (though the Irish win the contest for prettiest…