Raise Your Glass and Give a Toast to Celebrate the Real-World Benefits of Lower Taxes and Economic Freedom

by Dan Mitchell | May 3, 2013 | Blogs, Taxation

I share a lot of economic theory and empirical evidence in favor of lower tax rates. And I’m constantly extolling the virtues of overall economic freedom. But sometimes it helps to have a real-world example of how a specific industry responds when it is freed from...

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...

New European Central Bank Study Finds that Government Spending Undermines Growth

by Dan Mitchell | Apr 25, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Economics, Government Spending, Taxation

The fiscal policy debate often drives me crazy because far too many people focus on deficits. The Keynesians argue that deficits are good for growth and this leads them to support more government spending. The “austerity” crowd at places such as the International...

The Revised Bowles-Simpson Tax-Hike Plan Might Be even Worse than the Previous Version

by Dan Mitchell | Apr 20, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Government Spending, Taxation

I wrote last September that the budget plan put forward by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson was fatally flawed. There were some positive features in the plan, to be sure, such as lower marginal tax rates. And I suppose it’s worth noting that the burden of government...

It’s Tax Freedom Day, So Congratulations (if You Don’t Live in New York, California, New Jersey, Illinois, etc)

by Dan Mitchell | Apr 18, 2013 | Big Government, Blogs, Taxation

It’s time to celebrate. That’s because we have reached Tax Freedom Day, meaning that – in the aggregate – we have finally earned enough money to pay for all the federal, state, and local taxes that will be imposed on us this year by our political masters. But we’re...