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The President’s Fiscal Commission and Taxes: Matching Negotiating Postures...
Click here for a printer-friendly version of this articleWith President Obama’s fiscal commission getting under way, we pose a question based on preliminary talks: Why in the world is the discussion...
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Why policymakers need to be careful when taxing multinational companies
Later today, the House Ways and Means Committee will hear Treasury and expert witnesses on the use of transfer pricing by U.S. multinational firms. Under the current system of international taxation,...
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Paul Krugman on the Ryan Roadmap
Paul Krugman has written a column centered on Rep. Paul Ryan’s “Roadmap for America’s Future.” It is a peculiar column, and I’m sorry to say that it is somewhat misleading. Josh Barro and I wrote an...
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Finally Some Real Evidence on the Stimulus: Less Effective than You Think
Have the various stimulus programs inaugurated since 2008 been successful or not? What aspects of stimulus programs are more or less effective? These are tricky questions to answer, yet crucial in...
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Tax Code Progressivity
How progressive is the tax code? Greg Mankiw links to the following table from the Tax Foundation:The conclusion is that while America has a moderately high proportion of income held by the richest...
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Housing’s Double Dip: Is Government to Blame?
Click here for a printer-friendly version of this article.The S&P Case-Shiller home price data for the first quarter of 2011 are so dreadful that nearly everyone agrees that the U.S. housing market...
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How the Super Committee Might Break the Budget Logjam
The twelve-member budget “super committee” established by the recent debt ceiling legislation faces a tall order: to get seven of their members to agree to $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction over the...
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When Does a Corporate Income Tax Become a VAT? Or Why Do Conservatives Oppose...
On the heels of his State of the Union Address, President Obama’s Administration is planning to release a reform proposal for the corporate tax system. The plan is supposed to be released in early...
View ArticleThe Evolution of the Tax Justice Debate: From Buffett to Zuckerberg
“Tax justice” is a powerful rallying cry that has the potential to generate a seemingly limitless number of bad tax policy ideas. The latest is a “mark-to-market” capital gains tax proposed in the New...
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Getting Internet Sales Tax Right
Click here for a printer-friendly version of this article.While Amazon has somewhat softened its stance against state-level efforts to collect sales tax on internet sales, the fight over how internet...
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If Taxes Must be Raised, Raise Average Tax Rates
In the debate on how best to resolve the so-called “fiscal cliff” of $600 billion of pending tax increases and spending cuts scheduled for January 1, 2013, President Obama is not only insisting on more...
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Time to Fix the Charitable Deduction
Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus and ranking minority member Orrin Hatch have issued a bracing and unusual challenge to their colleagues: make the essential case for any and all tax breaks...
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On the Road to a Vehicle Mileage Tax
America needs to replace its motor fuel taxes with a fee for miles driven.Cars are becoming more fuel-efficient and miles driven are steadily declining. Electric cars use no gasoline at all, so their...
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Age of the Customer Heralds Potential Economic Boom
The power dynamic between buyers and sellers has changed and the market is rapidly adapting to a new paradigm shift. Thanks to the disruption caused by the Internet, consumers have more power than ever...
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On Tax Day, Tax-Cutting Candidates Take Center Stage
By Tax Day, April 15, Americans have spent an average of 27 hours filling out their tax returns. Tax collections are at a record high. The government's numerous encounters with the debt ceiling and a...
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Another Indictment of U.S. Corporate Taxes
Teaser: In their new release, the "2014 International Tax Competitiveness Index," Kyle Pomerleau and Andrew Lundeen of the Tax Foundation provide a holistic view of the 34 OECD countries' business tax...
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World Leaders, Ignore Obama and Do These Five Things Instead
Teaser: World leaders, beware: President Obama’s political loss last week is not preventing him from proffering economic advice on his travels to China and Australia this week. Rather than following...
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Why Breaking Up (the Tax Code) Is So Hard to Do
Teaser: Everyone wants tax reform. At least we pays lip service to the idea that the U.S. economy would be better off with lower rates, a simpler code, and fewer loopholes. Yet something everyone...
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Rubio Already Spearheading Tax Reform
Teaser: But a president's past experience does not determine the extent of issues he can address as president. To achieve as president, what is needed is governing experience, vision, and first-rate...
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Busting the Flat Tax Fallacy
Teaser: Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul recently unveiled his flat tax proposal. While Paul claims such a simple plan will help expand the American economy, implementing this system will...
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