What’s the worst thing about Delaware? No, not Joe Biden. He’s just a harmless clown and the butt of some good jokes. Instead, the so-called First State is actually the Worst State because 100 years ago, on this very day, Delaware made the personal income tax possible by ratifying the 16th Amendment. Though, to be […]

One of the key ways of controlling state and local tax burdens, according to this map from the Tax Foundation, is to not have an income tax. But that’s not too surprising. States have just a couple of ways of generating significant tax revenue, so it stands to reason that states without an income tax […]

The half-joking response to the question in the title of this post is that policymakers should look at what’s happening in poorly run jurisdictions such as California, France, Illinois, and Greece – and then do just the opposite. In other words, steer clear of punitive class-warfare tax rates and make sure to control the burden […]

One of the principles of good tax policy and fundamental tax reform is that there should be no double taxation of income that is saved and invested. Such a policy promotes current consumption at the expense of future consumption, which is simply an econo-geek way of saying that it penalizes capital formation. This isn’t very […]

What Do Greece, the United States, and the Cayman Islands Have in Common? At first, this seems like a trick question. After all, the Cayman Islands are a fiscal paradise, with no personal income tax, no corporate income tax, no capital gains tax, and no death tax. By contrast, Greece is a bankrupt, high-tax welfare […]

Most people fantasize about supermodels (at least most guys, I have no clue about females). But I’m different. I dream about a world with limited government, sort of like what America’s Founding Fathers had in mind. One of the best things about this fantasy world is that we would not need an income tax. Indeed, […]

My fight for freedom often requires great sacrifice. Last month, I went to Monaco and spoke about financial regulation and bailouts. Today, I’m in Bermuda, where I just gave a speech about tax competition. Both jurisdictions are remarkable places, among the richest places on the planet. And remarkably scenic, as illustrated by this picture I […]

The world is a laboratory and different nations are public policy experiments. Not surprisingly, the evidence from these experiments is that nations with more freedom tend to grow faster and enjoy more prosperity. Nations with big governments, by contrast, are more likely to suffer from stagnation. The same thing happens inside the United States. The […]