I’m not a big fan of international bureaucracies. Regular readers know that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is the worst institution from my perspective, followed by the International Monetary Fund. Some folks ask why the United Nations isn’t…
Daily Analysis
Led by North Carolina and Kansas, a Look at States Moving in the Right Direction
My colleagues Chris Edwards and Nicole Kaeding have just released the biannual Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors from the Cato Institute. The Report Card is on the Cato Institute’s most impressive publications sincedevelopments on the state level help…
Texas Is Booming…but CNN Doesn’t Want You to Know Why
Much of my writing is focused on the real-world impact of government policy, and this is why I repeatedly look at the relative economic performance of big government jurisdictions and small government jurisdictions. But I don’t just highlight differences between…
America’s Anti-Competitive and Anti-Comity International Tax System, Part I
Most of us will never be directly impacted by the international provisions of the internal revenue code. That’s bad news because it presumably means we don’t have a lot of money, but it’s good news because IRS policies regarding “foreign-source income” are a poisonous…
The OECD’s Scheme to Raise Tax Burdens on Workers, Consumers, and Investors
People pay every single penny of tax that politicians impose on corporations. The investors that own companies obviously pay (more than one time!) when governments tax profits. The workers employed by companies obviously pay, both directly and indirectly, because of…
Embarrassment Alert: America’s Tax System Ranks Below Italy, Greece, and Mexico
I’ve complained over and over again that America’s tax code is a nightmare that undermines competitiveness and retards growth. Our aggregate fiscal burden may not be as high as it is for many of our foreign competitors, but high tax rates and poor design mean the…
What’s the Best Tax Haven for American Citizens?
Since I spend considerable time defending tax competition, fiscal sovereignty, and financial privacy, people sometimes think I can give competent advice on how best to protect one’s income from the IRS. Hardly. Like most people in Washington, I’m all theory and no…
Laughing about Corporate Inversions
There’s lot of criticism of the IRS and the tax code on the Internet. Indeed, I like to think I contribute my fair share. But I’m surprised at (what I consider to be be) the limited amount of humor on those topics. As I look through my archives, I can find only a few…
Inversion Controversy Is about Whether Company Profits Should Flow to Shareholders or Government
Since I’ve been in Washington for nearly three decades, I’m used to foolish demagoguery. But the left’s reaction to corporate inversions takes political rhetoric to a new level of dishonesty. Every study that looks at business taxation reaches the same conclusion,…
Obama, Corporate Inversions, and Grotesque Hypocrisy
Last month, I put together a list of six jaw-dropping examples of left-wing hypocrisy, one of which featured Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew. He made the list for having the chutzpah to criticize corporate inversions on the basis of supposed economic patriotism, even…