by Dan Mitchell | Mar 12, 2026 | Blogs, Europe, Taxation
I frequently make the point that America’s tax system is more progressive than European tax systems. But not because the United States imposes higher tax rates on upper-income households. Instead, the big difference is that lower-income...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 2, 2026 | Blogs, Economics, Taxation
One of the key insights of good tax policy is that people respond to incentives. If tax rates are punitive, people will do what they can to protect themselves from predatory government. Especially if they have any ability to control the timing,...
by Dan Mitchell | Feb 8, 2026 | Blogs, Economics, Taxation
When trying to educate people about taxes, I often share this visual showing a taxpayer trying to figure out whether he should try to earn more income. The simple message is that a taxpayer is more likely to choose to earn more income if the tax rate on that...
by Dan Mitchell | Jan 4, 2026 | Blogs, Economics, Flat Tax, Taxation
CF&P released this video back in 2010, but I don’t think I’ve re-shared it since 2016, so let’s begin today’s column with a reminder that it is possible to have a simple and fair tax system. But since I’m an economist, I couldn’t resist pointing out in the video...
by Dan Mitchell | Oct 24, 2025 | Blogs, Taxation
Economic analysis of taxation is fairly simple and straightforward: The more you tax of something, the less you get of it. Yes, you want to focus on marginal tax rates, and yes, you want to look at “double taxation” to get effective marginal tax rates. If...
