by Dan Mitchell | Apr 18, 2014 | Blogs, Taxation
I’m ecumenical on tax reform. I’ll support any plan that rips up the internal revenue code and instead lowers tax rates, reduces double taxation, and cuts out distorting loopholes. And as I explain in this interview, both the flat tax and national sales tax have a low...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 11, 2014 | Blogs, Economics, Free Market
In the pre-World War I era, the fiscal burden of government was very modest in North America and Western Europe. Total government spending consumed only about 10 percent of economic output, most nations were free from theplague of the income tax, and the value-added...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 7, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
My tireless (and probably annoying) campaign to promote my Golden Rule of spending restraint is bearing fruit. The good folks at the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal allowed me to explain the fiscal and economic benefits that accrue when nations limit the...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 4, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation, VAT
I’m a supporter of a single-rate tax regime, especially if there’s no double taxation of income that is saved and invested. That’s why I like the flat tax. But I’ve expressed concern about the national sales tax, even though it’s basically the same as a flat tax (the...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 1, 2014 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending
Congressman Paul Ryan, the Republican Chairman of the House Budget Committee, has unveiled the GOP’s latest budget plan. Is this proposal deserving of applause or criticism? The answer is yes and yes, with a bit of emphasis on the former. Let’s start with some...