Debating Tax Havens

by Dan Mitchell | Jul 13, 2013 | Blogs, Economics, Financial Privacy, Tax Competition, Tax Havens, Taxation

I never thought I would wind up in Costco’s monthly magazine, but I was asked to take part in a pro-con debate on “Should offshore tax havens be illegal?” Given my fervent (and sometimes risky) support of tax competition, financial privacy, and fiscal sovereignty,...

Explaining to the Kleptocrats on Capitol Hill that Tax Havens Should Be Emulated, not Persecuted

by Dan Mitchell | Apr 26, 2013 | Blogs, Economics, Tax Competition, Tax Havens, Taxation

Since I just left Monaco and am now in Geneva, this is an appropriate time to extol the virtues of so-called tax havens.   But I don’t merely say nice things about low-tax jurisdictions when I’m in friendly environments. I believe in swinging my sword in the...

Why Art Laffer’s Unfortunate Endorsement of an State Sales Tax Cartel Is Misguided

by Dan Mitchell | Apr 19, 2013 | Blogs, Economics, Laffer Curve

Art Laffer has a guaranteed spot in the liberty hall of fame because he popularized the common-sense notion that you can’t make any assumptions about tax rates and tax revenue without also figuring out what happens to taxable income. Lot’s of people on the left try to...

According to Washington Post Exposé, People Who Utilize Tax Havens Are Far More Honest than Politicians

by Dan Mitchell | Apr 8, 2013 | Blogs, Economics, Financial Privacy, Tax Competition, Tax Havens, Taxation

Using data stolen from service providers in the Cook Islands and the British Virgin Islands, the Washington Post published a supposed exposé of Americans who do business in so-called tax havens. Since I’m the self-appointed defender of low-tax jurisdictions in...

A Simple Lesson of Policy Diversity from “The Black Swan” Author: Don’t Put All Your Financial Eggs in One Regulatory Basket

by Dan Mitchell | Nov 24, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Tax Competition, Taxation

Several months ago, I wrote a rather wonky post explaining that the western world became rich in large part because of jurisdictional competition. Citing historians, philosophers, economists, and other great thinkers, I explained that the rivalry made possible by...