by Dan Mitchell | Apr 28, 2016 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Tax Competition, Taxation
There’s a very powerful statement, variously attributed to Alexis de Toqueville, Benjamin Franklin, or Alexander Tytler, that basically warns that democracy is doomed when people figure out they can vote themselves money. There’s no evidence that any of them actually...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 20, 2016 | Blogs, Economics, Financial Privacy, Tax Competition, Taxation
I sometimes wonder if I was put on this planet to defend tax competition and tax havens. I argue for fiscal sovereignty, good tax policy, and financial privacy to the denizens of Capitol Hill, both in writing and in person. I make the same arguments for readers of the...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 16, 2016 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
As I’ve repeatedly explained, governments generally get in fiscal trouble because politicians can’t resist spending lots of money when the economy is buoyant and therefore generating lots of tax revenue. And this is why I’m a huge fan of spending caps. If outlays...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 14, 2016 | Big Government, Blogs, Taxation
If you follow the contest between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, most of the tax discussion is about who has the best plan to squeeze the rich with ever-higher tax rates. For those motivated by spite and envy, Bernie Sanders “wins” that debate since he wants...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 13, 2016 | Blogs, Economics, Taxation
I recently wrote a primer on the issue of tax evasion, which is illegal. I made the elementary point that low tax rates and a simple tax code are the best (and only good) way of promoting high levels of tax compliance. Now let’s shift to the related topic of tax...
