Does Your Family Have an Extra $5,500 to Pay the Higher Energy Taxes Proposed by the Bureaucrats at the IMF (Who Get Tax-Free Salaries)?

by Dan Mitchell | Mar 29, 2013 | Blogs, Taxation

If asked to name my least-favorite international bureaucracy, the easy answer would be the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. After all, it was only a few days ago that I outlined different ways that the Paris-based bureaucracy is seeking to expand...

Revenge of the Laffer Curve…Again and Again and Again

by Dan Mitchell | Mar 28, 2013 | Blogs, Economics, Laffer Curve, Taxation

If I live to be 100 years old, I suspect I’ll still be futilely trying to educate politicians that there’s not a simplistic linear relationship between tax rates and tax revenue. You can’t double tax rates, for instance, and expect to double tax revenue. Simply...

Targeting Multinationals, the OECD Launches New Scheme to Boost the Tax Burden on Business

by Dan Mitchell | Mar 25, 2013 | Blogs, Economics, Tax Competition, Tax Harmonization, Tax Havens, Taxation

I’ve been very critical of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Most recently, I criticized the Paris-based bureaucracy for making the rather remarkable assertion that a value-added tax would boost growth and employment. But that’s just the tip...

(Almost) Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about the Fiscal Policy Debate in a Single Chart

by Dan Mitchell | Mar 22, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation

I’m a sucker for a good flowchart because they either can help to simplify analysis or they can show how something is very complex. Some of my favorites include: This explanation of double taxation. This depiction of the no-win Greek economic crisis. Portrayals of...

The Ryan Budget: Is Returning to Clinton-Era Levels of Fiscal Restraint Really Asking too Much?

by Dan Mitchell | Mar 16, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending

It can be very frustrating to work at the Cato Institute and fight for small government. Consider what’s happened the past couple of days. Congressman Paul Ryan introduces a budget and I dig through the numbers with a sense of disappointment because government...