by Dan Mitchell | Jul 1, 2025 | Blogs, States, Taxation
In 1972, Ohio politicians made the mistake of imposing a state income tax. That first tax had a top rate of 3.5 percent, but politicians quickly became addicted to this new source of tax revenue. By 1984, the top rate had jumped to 9.5 percent....
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 22, 2025 | Blogs, Taxation
Back in 2013, I debated Joe Biden’s top economist on the death tax. Everything I said then (and wrote four years before then) is still true today. In the interview, I mentioned nations that have abolished their death taxes, including Australia. I should...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 19, 2025 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Welfare and Entitlements
The Social Security Administration has released the yearly forecast of the program’s long-run finances. Per tradition (see 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, etc), that means it is time for my annual explanation of why we have a grim...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 13, 2025 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
France is a role model, but not in a good way. It is a stark example of the dangers of excessive government spending. To elaborate, it has the largest fiscal burden of any first-world nation, which necessitates an oppressive tax regime....
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 11, 2025 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
One month ago, I explained that the United Kingdom was suffering economic and fiscal deterioration because of a rising burden of government spending. And when a greater share of economic output is diverted to the government, that means slower growth (even...
