by Dan Mitchell | Jun 1, 2015 | Blogs, Economics, States, Taxation
Every so often, I get asked why I’m so rigidly opposed to tax hikes in general and so vociferously against the imposition of new taxes in particular. In part, my hostility is an ideological reflex. When pressed, though, I’ll confess that there are situations – in...
by Dan Mitchell | May 23, 2015 | Blogs, States, Tax Competition, Taxation
Two years ago, I shared a map looking at how heavily wine was taxed in different states. What is showed was that you shouldn’t sip your Chardonnay or guzzle your Merlot in Kentucky. Unless, of course, you wanted to give politicians a lot more money to spend (or you...
by Dan Mitchell | May 12, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Taxation
In the past week, I’ve written two columns (here and here) extolling the benefits of federalism. So I now feel compelled to warn that my support for decentralization is not motivated by some Pollyannish view of sub-national governments. State and local...
by Dan Mitchell | May 6, 2015 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation
I’ve openly stated that there are tax-hiking budget deals that theoretically would be attractive. But notice that “theoretically” is part of that sentence. That’s because in the real world, tax hikes have a poisonous effect on fiscal policy. Instead of being the...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 8, 2015 | Blogs, States, Taxation
With tax day looming, let’s wallow in misery by contemplating the burden on America’s taxpayers. But we’ll ignore the angst caused be dealing with an indecipherable tax code and an oppressive IRS and simply focus on the amount of money that gets extracted from our...
