The Global Flat Tax Revolution

April 10, 2009 by Dan Mitchell

This mini-documentary from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity discusses the global flat tax revolution. There are now 24 flat tax jurisdictions (actually 25, but we didn’t know about Trinidad & Tobago when the video was filmed), a remarkable development given the ideological opposition to tax reform from special interest groups and class warfare advocates. The six-minute video explains the key features of the flat tax revolution and highlights the reforms in Hong Kong, Estonia, and Iceland. The flat tax revolution has been especially strong in former Soviet-bloc nations, a rather ironic development since a so-called progressive income tax was a key tenet of Marx’s Communist Manifesto.

Posted in Economics, Fiscal Policy, Taxation, Uncategorized, Video | Tagged Fiscal Policy, Flat Tax, Free Markets, Liberty, Taxation, Video | 45 Comments

45 Responses

on December 13, 2022 at 6:01 pm Dan Mitchell: It is economically foolish to have high tax rates, double taxation, and corrupt loopholes! | The Daily Hatch

[…] In my video, by contrast, I got to share the good news about the tax reform that was taking place in Eastern Europe. […]
on December 13, 2022 at 8:14 am Time to Resuscitate the Flat Tax | International Liberty

[…] In my video, by contrast, I got to share the good news about the tax reform that was taking place in Eastern Europe. […]
on July 8, 2022 at 10:12 am OECD Bureaucrats Advocate Statist Policies that Would Weaken Estonia | International Liberty

[…] Such as the top-ranked business tax system and the pro-growth flat tax. […]
on July 7, 2022 at 7:29 am Lessons from Estonia’s Market-Driven Convergence | International Liberty

[…] I’m a fiscal policy wonk, I’m especially impressed by Estonia’s flat tax, as well as the fact that there is no double taxation on corporate […]
on May 9, 2022 at 7:25 am Ukraine’s Self-Imposed Statism Crisis | International Liberty

[…] factors in Freedom of the World, Ukraine does best in the fiscal policy measure (in part because it has a flat tax!), but it has a horrible grade for monetary policy and doesn’t do well in the other […]
on February 19, 2022 at 7:48 am Spending Restraint Is Good Short-Run Policy and Good Long-Run Policy | International Liberty

[…] We should give credit to the handful of nations that have lowered tax rates, several of which replaced discriminatory systems with simple and fair flat taxes. […]
on August 2, 2019 at 1:11 pm Estonia Experiments with Higher Taxes, Learns a Lesson | International Liberty

[…] Estonia has a non-discriminatory flat tax. […]
on June 27, 2019 at 1:46 pm The Economic Damage of “Neutral Taxes” | International Liberty

[…] interesting about the new member states of Eastern Europe is that many of them have flat taxes and low corporate […]
on May 29, 2018 at 9:46 am Spending and Tax Limits in (the Country of) Georgia | International Liberty

[…] part, this is an opportunity to highlight that Georgia is one of many nations to adopt a flat tax. Georgia’s 20 percent flat tax not only has a single rate, but also […]
on May 27, 2018 at 2:48 pm Georgia (the Country) Is a Case Study of the Benefits of Economic Liberalization | International Liberty

[…] And I definitely shouldn’t forget to mention that Georgia is part of the global flat tax revolution. […]
on May 15, 2018 at 7:37 am Slovakia, Economic Reform, and National Competitiveness | International Liberty

[…] off the vestiges of communism with a plethora of very attractive policies – including a flat tax, personal retirement accounts, and spending […]
on August 5, 2017 at 11:38 am Capitalist Reforms Boosting Baltic Prosperity

[…] a fan of the Baltic nations in part because they were among the first to adopt flat tax systems after the collapse of the Soviet empire. But tax reform was just the beginning. Estonia, Latvia, […]
on August 5, 2017 at 11:30 am Capitalist Reforms Boosting Baltic Prosperity | People's Pundit Daily

[…] a fan of the Baltic nations in part because they were among the first to adopt flat tax systems after the collapse of the Soviet empire. But tax reform was just the beginning. Estonia, Latvia, […]
on August 4, 2017 at 9:46 am Capitalist Reforms Boosting Baltic Prosperity | International Liberty

[…] a fan of the Baltic nations in part because they were among the first to adopt flat tax systems after the collapse of the Soviet empire. But tax reform was just the beginning. Estonia, Latvia, […]
on April 5, 2017 at 11:18 am The Transition from Communism in the Soviet Bloc and Lessons for Cuba, North Korea, and Venezuela | International Liberty

[…] while it’s good that some Eastern European nations have flat taxes, that’s not an economic elixir if there are very high payroll taxes, stifling value-added […]
on February 4, 2017 at 10:54 am Is Putin Being Honest and Accurate about the Benefits of Russia’s Flat Tax? | International Liberty

[…] I confess that I’m jealous that other nations have adopted this common-sense reform while we’re still stuck with a punitive and unfair internal revenue […]
on February 2, 2017 at 9:13 am Smaller Government Is the Best Strategy for Reducing Corruption in Romania | Conservative Republican News

[…] been some success. Romania is one of the many flat tax nations in Eastern Europe. And it ranks #22 in Economic Freedom of the World, which is rather impressive (though it only […]
on February 1, 2017 at 9:47 am Smaller Government Is the Best Strategy for Reducing Corruption in Romania | International Liberty

[…] been some success. Romania is one of the many flat tax nations in Eastern Europe. And it ranks #22 in Economic Freedom of the World, which is rather impressive (though it only […]
on December 26, 2016 at 11:59 am The Flat Tax, Now More then Ever | International Liberty

[…] yes, we should have a flat tax. Other nations shouldn’t have all the […]
on October 14, 2016 at 11:38 am America’s Miserably Anti-Competitive Tax System | International Liberty

[…] of data and lots of countries. Estonia gets the top score, and deservedly so. It has a flat tax and many other good policies. It’s also no surprise to see New Zealand and Switzerland near […]
on October 4, 2016 at 8:18 am A (Sadly Short) List of Admirable Foreign Leaders | Conservative Republican News

[…] Mikloš – A former Finance Minister of Slovakia, Ivan oversaw the introduction of both a flat tax and personal retirement accounts, policies that helped contribute to rapid growth and the nation […]
on October 1, 2016 at 10:36 am A (Sadly Short) List of Admirable Foreign Leaders | International Liberty

[…] Mikloš – A former Finance Minister of Slovakia, Ivan oversaw the introduction of both a flat tax and personal retirement accounts, policies that helped contribute to rapid growth and the nation […]
on June 19, 2016 at 11:24 am Five Big Reasons to Applaud the Improbable Success of Estonia…and Five Small Reasons to Worry | International Liberty

[…] Estonia is a leader in the global flat tax revolution. It has a simple and fair system with a relatively reasonable rate of 20 […]
on June 13, 2016 at 12:17 pm Demographics, Insufficient Reform, and the Grim Outlook for Eastern Europe | International Liberty

[…] some people. After all, isn’t the welfare state smaller in these countries? Haven’t many of them adopted pro-growth reforms such as the flat […]
on May 1, 2016 at 9:45 am For Sustainable Fisheries, Private Property Rights Work Better than Command-and-Control Regulation | International Liberty

[…] just like I rely on real-world evidence for my praise of the flat tax, there’s also real-world evidence for successful fisheries […]
on March 14, 2016 at 9:57 am Lessons for the United States (and other Nations) from Estonia: Fight Corruption by Shrinking Government | International Liberty

[…] has a low-rate flat tax, meaning that investors, entrepreneurs, and small-business owners aren’t punished for […]
on September 15, 2015 at 12:04 pm America’s Unfortunate Loss of Economic Liberty in the 21st Century - People's Pundit Daily

[…] The nation with the biggest improvement since 2000 is Romania. Thanks to reforms such as the flat tax, its score has skyrocketed from 5.31 to 7.69, an increase of 2.38 points. At this rate, they’ll […]
on September 15, 2015 at 11:30 am America’s Unfortunate Loss of Economic Liberty in the 21st Century | International Liberty

[…] The nation with the biggest improvement since 2000 is Romania. Thanks to reforms such as the flat tax, its score has skyrocketed from 5.31 to 7.69, an increase of 2.38 points. At this rate, […]
on August 28, 2015 at 10:34 pm Flat Tax & Other Considerations | 38 South

[…] used to argue that the flat tax was unworkable, but there are now about 30 nations with a version of this simple and fair tax […]
on September 20, 2013 at 1:02 am Open letter to President Obama (Part 412) No good developments for limited government in 2012 | The Daily Hatch

[…] for a bit of good news. There are still more than 25 flat tax jurisdictions in the world, including two of my favorite places – Hong Kong and […]
on February 18, 2013 at 7:57 am Open letter to President Obama (Part 241) « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] used to argue that the flat tax was unworkable, but there are now about 30 nations with a version of this simple and fair tax […]
on January 18, 2013 at 7:55 am What was most tragic policy development of 2012 in USA? « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] for a bit of good news. There are still more than 25 flat tax jurisdictions in the world, including two of my favorite places – Hong Kong and […]
on January 17, 2013 at 10:35 am Letting the Federal Reserve continue to print money is not the way to go « HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth

[…] used to argue that the flat tax was unworkable, but there are now about 30 nations with a version of this simple and fair tax […]
on January 1, 2013 at 9:20 am What Was the Most Tragic Policy Development of 2012? « International Liberty

[…] for a bit of good news. There are still more than 25 flat tax jurisdictions in the world, including two of my favorite places – Hong Kong and […]
on November 22, 2012 at 1:17 pm Richard Epstein Discusses the Flat Tax « International Liberty

[…] system is working in about 30 nations around the world. Isn’t it time America had a tax system that made […]
on September 19, 2012 at 2:52 pm Just in Case You Need another Reason to Support the Flat Tax « International Liberty

[…] there are now about 30 nations around the world that have adopted this simple and fair system, so reform isn’t impossible. But it will only […]
on April 9, 2012 at 9:59 pm If We Can’t End the Fed, Can We at Least Subject It to Competition? | Sago

[…] used to argue that the flat tax was unworkable, but there are now about 30 nations with a version of this simple and fair tax […]
on April 8, 2012 at 8:26 am If We Can’t End the Fed, Can We at Least Subject It to Competition? « International Liberty

[…] used to argue that the flat tax was unworkable, but there are now about 30 nations with a version of this simple and fair tax […]
on January 12, 2012 at 9:50 am A Futile Economics Lesson for France’s Politicians | Sago

[…] If he really wants to improve the French economy, he should copy the Baltic nations and dramatically reduce the burden of government spending, while also replacing a punitive tax system with a simple and fair flat tax. […]
on January 11, 2012 at 1:09 pm A Futile Economics Lesson for France’s Politicians « International Liberty

[…] If he really wants to improve the French economy, he should copy the Baltic nations and dramatically reduce the burden of government spending, while also replacing a punitive tax system with a simple and fair flat tax. […]
on November 14, 2011 at 2:35 pm Alan Blinder’s Accidental Case for the Flat Tax « International Liberty

[…] here’s the video on the global flat tax revolution. Interestingly, there are now about five more flat tax jurisdictions since this video was made […]
on September 14, 2011 at 9:50 am New Video from Congressoman Paul Ryan Explains Two Key Principles of Tax Reform « International Liberty

[…] well done. Given my video on the flat tax, as well as my video on the global flat tax revolution, you probably are not surprised by my reaction to Congressman Ryan’s […]
on November 19, 2010 at 6:44 pm Hungary Joins the Flat Tax Club « The Market Center Blog

[…] 30 nations now have the morally and economically superior tax regime, a remarkable increase since I narrated a video two years ago and there were only 25 countries on the […]
on November 19, 2010 at 9:49 am Hungary Joins the Flat Tax Club « International Liberty

[…] 30 nations now have the morally and economically superior tax regime, a remarkable increase since I narrated a video two years ago and there were only 25 countries on the […]
on April 15, 2010 at 7:55 pm » The Global Flat Tax Revolution - Big Government

[…] now it is time for some jealousy. There are more than 25 jurisdictions around the world that have flat tax systems and do not face the horror and anxiety of complicated tax systems. This is a remarkable change […]

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