It boggles the mind to think that the United States now has the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world. But it’s even more amazing that America arguably has the most punitive corporate tax rate in the entire world. Here’s some of what I wrote on the topic for today’s U.K.-based Telegraph. …the United States has the highest corporate tax rate […]

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, which is that America’s tax system is punitive and anti-competitive. Simply stated, the combination of […]

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 though he invested lots of money via the Cayman Islands when he was a crony capitalist at Citigroup. But it turns […]

One of the worst things about working in Washington is that it’s so easy to get frustrated about the fact-free nature of political debates. For instance, there’s now a big controversy about companies “re-domiciling” or “inverting” from the United States to lower-tax nations such as Ireland and Switzerland. This should not be controversial. Unless, of course, you […]

When the new Tory-led government came to power in the United Kingdom, I was rather unimpressed. David Cameron positioned himself as a British version of George W. Bush, full of “compassionate conservative” ideas to expand the burden of government. But even worse than Bush, because Cameron also jacked up taxes when he first took office, including big […]

The title of this post sounds like the beginning of a strange joke, but it’s actually because we’re covering three issues today. Our first topic is corporate taxation. More specifically, we’re looking at a nation that seems to be learning that it’s foolish the have a punitive corporate tax system. By way of background, the […]

If you’re a regular reader, you already know I’m a big supporter of tax competition and tax havens. Here’s the premise: Politicians almost always are focused on their next election and this encourages them to pursue policies that are designed to maximize votes and power within that short time horizon. Unfortunately, this often results in very short-sighted […]

I’m in favor of free markets. That means I’m sometimes on the same side as big business, but it also means that I’m often very critical of big business. That’s because large companies are largely amoral. Depending on the issue, they may be on the side of the angels, such as when they resist bad government policies such […]

The tax code is a complicated nightmare, particularly for businesses. Some people may think this is because of multiple tax rates, which definitely is an issue for all the non-corporate businesses that file “Schedule C” forms using the personal income tax. A discriminatory rate structure adds to complexity, to be sure, but the main reason for […]

Over the years, I’ve shared some ridiculous arguments from our leftist friends. Paul Krugman, for instance, actually wrote that “scare stories” about government-run healthcare in the United Kingdom “are false.” Which means I get to recycle that absurd quote every time I share a new horror story about the failings of the British system. Today we have some assertions […]