As if the residents of the Gulf Coast haven’t had it hard enough, the IRS is moving in to make sure they get their cut of any payouts from BP. These government bureaucrats even have the chutzpah to pretend that their actions are benevolent and beneficial on the…
Daily Analysis
The G-20 Fiscal Fight: A Pox on Both Their Houses
Barack Obama and Angela Merkel are the two main characters in what is being portrayed as a fight between American “stimulus” and European “austerity” at the G-20 summit meeting in Canada. My immediate instinct is to cheer for the Europeans. After all, “austerity”…
European Central Bank President Wants to Exacerbate Continent’s Fiscal Crisis
It’s been amusing, in an I-told-you-so fashion, to follow the fiscal crises in Greece, Spain, and other European welfare states. And I feel like a voyeuristic ghoul as I observe the incredibly misguided bailout policies being adopted by the political elites (who are…
The U.K. Version of Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss
As the chart below indicates, the United Kingdom has a large budget deficit solely because government spending has increased to record levels (OECD data). Unfortunately, the new Tory-Liberal coalition government has decided that taxpayers should be punished for all…
Top House Democrat Calls for Middle-Class Tax Hikes
I’ve frequently argued that the main purpose of “taxing the rich” is not to collect more revenue. Smart leftists, after all, understand that there are very strong Laffer Curve effects at the top of the income scale since investors and entrepreneurs have considerable…
Senator DeMint Fights Against Tax Increase on Capital Gains and Dividends
In today’s political climate of big government, big spending and big taxes, it’s important to recognize when someone in Congress stands up and gets it right. Senator Jim DeMint did just that recently when he proposed an amendment, to the current tax…
A Totalitarian Future for Europe?
I don’t often agree with the statist president of the European Commission, but Mr. Barroso may be right when he warns that some nations are at risk of descending back into dictatorship. But while he may be correct in his diagnosis, his proposed solution is more…
British Prepare for Impending Capital Gains Increase
UK Chancellor George Osborne is expected to include a sharp increase in Britain’s capital gains tax when he unveils the emergency budget on Tuesday. Preparing for this, British citizens are acting to take advantage of the lower rates while they still can: A…
Russia Getting Rid of Capital Gains Tax
The former communists running Russia apparently understand tax policy better than the buffoons in charge of U.S. tax policy. Not only does Russia have a 13 percent flat tax, but the government has just announced it will eliminate the capital gains tax (which…
Taxpayers vs. Bureaucrats, Part XXXI
The competition to be the Greece of America has a lot of contestants. California and Illinois certainly are strong candidates. New Jersey was an early favorite, though Gov. Christie is actually doing some good things and pulling the state back from the precipice. But…