by Dan Mitchell | Oct 1, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation
I’m pleasantly surprised by the tax plans proposed by Marco Rubio, Rand Paul,Jeb Bush, and Donald Trump. In varying ways, all these candidate have put forth relatively detailed proposals that address high tax rates, punitive double taxation, and distorting tax...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 13, 2015 | Blogs, Economics, Taxation
While I sometimes make moral arguments against the current tax system (because it is corrupt, because it doesn’t treat people equally, because it provides unearned wealth for insiders, etc), my main arguments are based on economics. High tax rates on workers and...
by Dan Mitchell | Aug 28, 2014 | Blogs, Economic Growth, Economics, Taxation
I wrote a column for the Wall Street Journal last week about the policy debate over whether it’s better to lower tax rates or to provide targeted tax cuts for parents. Since this meant I was wading into a fight between so-called reform conservatives (or “reformicons”)...
by Dan Mitchell | Jun 26, 2014 | Blogs, Economics, Health Care, Taxation
Obamacare resulted in big increases in the fiscal burden of government(ironically, it would be even worse if Obama hadn’t unilaterally suspended parts of the law). The legislation increased government spending, mostly for expanded Medicaidand big subsidies for private...
by Dan Mitchell | Mar 26, 2014 | Blogs, Tax Competition, Taxation
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, there was a widespread consensus that high tax rates were economically misguided. Many Democrats, for instance, supported the 1986 Tax Reform Act that lowered the top tax rate from 50 percent to 28 percent (albeit offset by increased...