by Dan Mitchell | Feb 13, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation, VAT
The value-added tax is a pernicious levy. It’s basically a hidden form of national sales tax, imposed every time a transaction occurs at any stage of the production process. But what irks me about the VAT is not its design (indeed, it shares some key characteristics...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 11, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending
The looters and moochers in Washington are increasingly agitated by the prospect of sequestration. Automatic budget cuts, we are told, will indiscriminately slash vital programs and undermine economic growth by reducing government spending. This is utter bunk. I would...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 7, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation
To save America from the supposedly “savage” and “draconian” budget cuts caused by sequestration, President Obama has instead asked Congress to approve an alternative fiscal package containing additional tax increases. So why is the sequester so bad? Does it slash the...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 5, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Taxation
Those of you old enough to remember the Cold War may remember something called the Brezhnev Doctrine. This was the rule concocted by the Soviet tyrants that basically said a nation could never regain freedom once it fell under communist rule. In my simple way of...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 30, 2013 | Blogs, Flat Tax, Taxation
I’m at Hillsdale College in Michigan for a conference on taxation. The event is called “The Federal Income Tax: A Centenary Consideration,” though I would have called it something like “100 Years of Misery from the IRS.” I’m glad to be here, both because Hillsdale...
