New Jersey’s $10.7 billion budget deficit is the second highest among all U.S. states. With New Jersey already facing one of the worst economic outlooks in the country according to ALEC’s “Rich States, Poor States,” newly elected Governor…
Daily Analysis
Primer Makes the Case for Tax Competition to Restrain Government Oppression
The Freeman has an article by an expert from Bermuda about the importance of giving taxpayers an escape option to curtail the greed of the political elite: The Declaration of Independence had it exactly right: “He [King George III] has erected a multitude of New…
America Will Now Be the Unquestioned World Leader…But in the Wrong Way.
The United States has a very anti-competitive corporate tax regime. The federal tax rates is 35 percent and the average of state corporate tax systems brings the rate to nearly 40 percent. In Europe, by contrast, the average corporate tax rate is about 25 percent….
When Billionaires Attack!
Here’s a cheerful story I saw linked on Drudge, which shows that sometimes rich people are not guilt-ridden statists and instead stand shoulder to shoulder with ordinary people to fight bad government policy. In Australia, the leftist government wants to impose…
Hillary Clinton’s Poisonous Advice for Latin America
In an amusing coincidence, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and I were both in Latin America this week offering fiscal policy advice. But it won’t surprise you to know that Mrs. Clinton’s suggestions are radically different than the advice I provided….
Bailouts Discourage Tax Competition Between States
Big Government bailouts haven’t just been directed toward businesses and Wall Street, they’ve also been deployed to prop up Big Governments. Having taken “stimulus” money while fully aware that it was a one-time windfall, politicians in many…
Dan Mitchell Gets Results
I gave a speech in Hungary about two weeks ago and now the government has announced a big step in the direction of better fiscal policy. According to Reuters, “Hungary’s new government plans to introduce a flat personal income tax of 16 percent from 2011,…
Europe's Greedy Politicians Resent Switzerland's Pro-Growth Tax Policy
This story from Business Week warmed my heart. Switzerland’s cantons are competing to create better tax policy, and this is attracting companies seeking to escape the kleptocracies elsewhere in Europe. This shows the value of tax competition (imagine how bad…
Greece’s Problem Is High Tax Rates, not Tax Evasion
The New York Times has an article describing widespread tax evasion in Greece, along with an implication that the country’s fiscal crisis is largely the result of unpaid taxes and could be mostly solved if taxpayers were more obedient to the state. This is an…
The IMF Is Urging Governments to Adopt Regulatory and Tax Cartels to Benefit Politicians
Price fixing is illegal in the private sector, but unfortunately there are no rules against schemes by politicians to create oligopolies in order to prop up bad government policy. The latest example comes from the bureaucrats at the International Monetary Fund, who…