by Dan Mitchell | Aug 6, 2014 | Blogs, Taxation
Since I’m an economist, I generally support competition. But it’s time to admit that competition isn’t always a good idea. Particularly when international bureaucracies compete to see which one can promote the most-destructive pro-tax policies. For instance, I noted...
by Dan Mitchell | May 14, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Europe, Government Spending, Keynesian
Are there any fact checkers at the New York Times? Since they’ve allowed some glaring mistakes by Paul Krugman (see here and here), I guess the answer is no. But some mistakes are worse than others. Consider a recent column by David Stuckler of Oxford and Sanjay Basu...
by Dan Mitchell | Nov 18, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Laffer Curve, Taxation
If there was a prize for fighting back against tax authorities, the Italians would probably deserve first place. I’m not aware of any other country where tax offices get firebombed. The Italians also believe in passive forms of resistance, with tens of thousands of...
by Dan Mitchell | Oct 4, 2012 | Blogs, Economics, Laffer Curve, Tax Competition, Taxation
I’ve shared evidence from around the world (England, Italy, the United States, and France) and from various states (Illinois, Oregon, Florida,Maryland, and New York) to argue that it is foolish to ignore the Laffer Curve. Not that it makes any difference. I’m slowly...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 24, 2012 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Europe, Government Spending
With the exception of a few top-notch thinkers such as Pierre Bessard and Allister Heath, there are very few people in Europe who can intelligently analyze public policy, particularly with regard to fiscal issues. I don’t know if Fredrik Erixon of the Brussels-based...