While the two chambers of Congress work to reconcile the differences between their respective transportation bills, CF&P continues to monitor an unrelated tax provision known as the “Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act” that was slipped into the Senate version by…
Daily Analysis
The Great Tax Haven Debate, Part II
Back in April, responding to an article written by Ann Hollingshead for the Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development, I wrote a long post defending so-called tax havens. I went through the trouble of a point-by-point response because her article was…
The States Are a Fiscal Policy Laboratory, but Obama Isn’t Learning the Right Lesson
The fiscal nightmare in Europe should be all the proof that’s needed about the dangers of wasteful spending and punitive tax rates. Unfortunately, if his proposals for bigger government and class-warfare tax policy are any indication, President Obama still seems to…
Should International Bureaucracies Get Taxing Powers or Direct Funding?
Over the years, I’ve strenuously objected to schemes that would enable international bureaucracies to levy taxes. That’s why I’ve criticized “direct funding” proposals, most of which seem to emanate from the United Nations. A scheme to let the United Nations tax…
A Rare Bit of Good News from Europe
It seems that there’s nothing but bad news coming from Europe. Whether we’re talking about fake austerity in the United Kingdom, confiscatory tax schemes in France, or bailouts in Greece, the continent seems to be a case study of failed statism. But that’s not…
Revolt of the Italian Tax Slaves
I wrote last year about a tax protest in Ireland, and I wrote earlier this year about a tax revolt in Greece. But Irish and Greek taxpayers are wimps compared to their Italian compatriots. When Italians decide to have a tax revolt, they don’t kid around. Here are some…
Facebook Billionaire Gives Up Citizenship to Escape Bad American Tax Policy
It is very sad that America’s tax system is so onerous that some rich people feel they have no choice but to give up U.S. citizenship in order to protect their family finances. I’ve written about this issue before, particularly in the context of Obama’s class-warfare…
The Geese with the Golden Eggs Are Preparing to Escape France
Even though he is a foolish statist, I wanted Francois Hollande to win the French presidency. Sarkozy was a statist as well, after all, and my “Richard Nixon Disinfectant Rule” says that it’s better to have the out-of-the-closet statist prevail in such contests in…
Comparing Obamanomics with Reaganomics, Looking at Evidence from the States
I’ve done a couple of posts comparing Reaganomics and Obamanomics, mostly based on data from the Minneapolis Federal Reserve on employment and economic output. I even did a TV interview on the subject, which generated some comments on my taste in clothing, and also…
Professor Greg Mankiw: If You Value Individual Liberty, then Protect, Promote, and Preserve Competition Between Governments
Other than my experiment dealing with corporate taxation, the first video I narrated for the Center for Freedom and Prosperity dealt with the issue of tax competition. It was a deliberate choice because I view competition among governments as one of the few effective…