by Dan Mitchell | Oct 2, 2017 | Blogs, Taxation
There are several challenges when trying to analyze the impact of policy on economic performance. One problem is isolating the impact of a specific policy. I like Switzerland’s spending cap, for instance, but to what extent is that policy responsible for the country’s...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 11, 2017 | Blogs, Economics
If tax policy was a religion, the Holy Trinity of reform would be very straightforward. Lower tax rates in order to encourage more productive behavior. Get rid of double taxation in order to enable saving and investment. End distorting preferences in order to reduce...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 6, 2017 | Blogs, Taxation
Whenever I see an otherwise sensible person express support for a value-added tax, it triggers a Pavlovian response. And it’s not a favorable reaction. I’ve criticized Tom Dolan, Greg Mankiw, and Paul Ryan, for pro-VAT comments. I’ve gone after Kevin Williamson, Josh...
by Dan Mitchell | Sep 2, 2017 | Blogs, Taxation
Why were the Reagan tax cuts so successful? Why did the economy rebound so dramatically from the malaise of the 1970s? The easy answer is that we got better tax policy, especially lower marginal tax rates on personal and business income. Those lower rates reduced the...
by Dan Mitchell | Aug 30, 2017 | Blogs, Flat Tax, Taxation
While I realize there’s zero hope of ripping up America’s awful tax code and getting a simple and fair flat tax, I’m nonetheless hopeful that there will be some meaningful incremental changes as part of the current effort to achieve some sort of tax reform. A package...
