Ever since the bureaucrats at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development launched their attack on so-called harmful tax competition back in the 1990s, I’ve warned that the goal has been to create a global tax cartel. Sort of an “OPEC for politicians.” Supporters of the initiative said I was exaggerating, and that the OECD, […]
Search Results for '"tax competition"'
The Paris-Based OECD’s Ongoing Effort to Replace Tax Competition with Tax Harmonization
Posted in Financial Privacy, Fiscal Policy, Global Taxation, International Taxation, Jurisdictional Competition, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Sovereignty, Taxation, tagged Financial Privacy, Fiscal Policy, Global Taxation, International Taxation, Jurisdictional Competition, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Sovereignty, Taxation on November 13, 2019| 12 Comments »
A Primer on Tax Competition and the OECD
Posted in Economics, Fiscal Policy, Higher Taxes, International bureaucracy, Jurisdictional Competition, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Tax Competition, Tax Harmonization, tagged Economics, Fiscal Policy, Higher Taxes, International bureaucracy, Jurisdictional Competition, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Tax Competition, Tax Harmonization on September 1, 2019| 20 Comments »
Speaking in Europe earlier this year, I tried to explain the entire issue of tax competition is less than nine minutes. To some degree, those remarks were an updated version of a video I narrated back in 2010. You’ll notice that I criticized the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in both videos. And with […]
The Case for Tax Competition
Posted in Jurisdictional Competition, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax Compliance, Tax evasion, Tax Harmonization, Tax Haven, Taxation, tagged Jurisdictional Competition, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax Compliance, Tax evasion, Tax Harmonization, Tax Haven, Taxation on April 9, 2019| 21 Comments »
Why do I relentlessly defend tax competition and tax havens? Sadly, it’s not because I have money to protect. Instead, I’m motivated by a desire to protect the world from “goldfish government.” Simply stated, politicians have a “public choice” incentive for never-ending expansions of government, even if they actually understand such policies will lead to […]
Everything You Need to Know about Tax Competition in One Story
Posted in Politicians, Tax Competition, Taxation, tagged Indonesia, Politicians, Tax Competition, Taxation on November 16, 2018| 1 Comment »
I’m a big fan of tax competition because politicians (i.e., stationary bandits) are far more likely to control their greed (i.e., keep tax burdens reasonable) if they know taxpayers have the ability to shift economic activity to lower-tax jurisdictions. For all intents and purposes, tax competition helps offset the natural tendency (caused by “public choice“) […]
Tax Competition: So Powerful that even Politicians in Left-Wing States Feel Compelled to Cut Taxes for Rich People
Posted in Death Tax, Jurisdictional Competition, States, Supply-side economics, Tax Competition, Taxation, tagged Death Tax, es p, States, Supply-side economics, Tax Competition, Taxation on June 17, 2017| 20 Comments »
Whenever I debate my left-wing friends on tax policy, they routinely assert that taxes don’t matter. They argue that we don’t have to worry about the Laffer Curve because high tax rates don’t discourage taxable income. They argue that we don’t have to worry about double taxation because high tax rates don’t discourage saving and […]
Tax Competition: A Necessary Liberalizing Process to Discipline the “Stationary Bandit” of Government
Posted in Economics, England, Fiscal Policy, Germany, Jurisdictional Competition, Tax Competition, Taxation, tagged Economics, England, Fiscal Policy, Germany, Jurisdictional Competition, Tax Competition, Taxation on January 16, 2017| 50 Comments »
Mancur Olson (1932-1998) was a great economist who came up with a very useful analogy to help explain the behavior of many governments. He pointed out that a “roving bandit” has an incentive to maximize short-run plunder by stealing everything from victims (i.e. a 100 percent tax rate), whereas a “stationary bandit” has an incentive […]
The European Commission’s Attack on Apple and Ireland Is Really an Attack on Tax Competition
Posted in Big Government, Economics, European Commission, Harmonization, Ireland, Jurisdictional Competition, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax Harmonization, Taxation, tagged Big Government, Economics, European Commission, Harmonization, Ireland, Jurisdictional Competition, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax Harmonization, Taxation on September 19, 2016| 10 Comments »
I’ve previously written about the bizarre attack that the European Commission has launched against Ireland’s tax policy. The bureaucrats in Brussels have concocted a strange theory that Ireland’s pro-growth tax system provides “state aid” to companies like Apple (in other words, if you tax at a low rate, that’s somehow akin to giving handouts to […]
Is Defending Tax Competition Akin to “Trading with the Enemy”?
Posted in Center for Freedom and Prosperity, Fiscal Policy, Patriotism, Tax Competition, Tax Haven, Taxation, tagged Center for Freedom and Prosperity, Fiscal Policy, Patriotism, Tax Competition, Tax Haven, Taxation on June 10, 2016| 30 Comments »
When I was younger, my left-wing friends said conservatives unfairly attacked them for being unpatriotic and anti-American simply because they disagreed on how to deal with the Soviet Union. Now the shoe is on the other foot. Last decade, a Treasury Department official accused me of being disloyal to America because I defended the fiscal […]
Democracy, Societal Collapse, Public Choice, Goldfish, and Tax Competition
Posted in Big Government, Economics, Fiscal Policy, Government Spending, Jurisdictional Competition, Mitchell's Golden Rule, Tax Competition, Taxation, tagged Big Government, Economics, Fiscal Policy, Government Spending, Jurisdictional Competition, Mitchell's Golden Rule, Public Choice, Tax Competition, Taxation on April 27, 2016| 51 Comments »
There’s a very powerful statement, variously attributed to Alexis de Toqueville, Benjamin Franklin, or Alexander Tytler, that basically warns that democracy is doomed when people figure out they can vote themselves money. There’s no evidence that any of them actually spoke or wrote those words, though I guess it doesn’t matter that the quote didn’t […]
Another Attack on Tax Competition: “Panama Papers” Is a Non-Controversy Controversy
Posted in Economics, Financial Privacy, Sovereignty, Tax Competition, Tax Haven, tagged Economics, Financial Privacy, Panama, Sovereignty, Tax Competition, Tax Haven on April 4, 2016| 11 Comments »
Three years ago, thieves stole a bunch of information from “offshore” service providers in the Cook Islands and British Virgin Islands. This was supposed to be a ground-breaking exposé with huge ramifications, but it turned out to be a tempest in a teapot. As I pointed out at the time, all that we really learned […]
Genuine Federalism and Tax Competition for Australia?
Posted in Australia, Economics, Federalism, Tax Competition, tagged Australia, Economics, Federalism, Tax Competition on April 3, 2016| 7 Comments »
Australia is one of my favorite nations, and not just because the people are friendly. It has a modest-sized government, at least compared to other developed nations (see table 25 of this OECD data), and it has a very attractive private Social Security system that puts Australia in relatively good shape when looking at the […]
Another Encouraging Example of How Tax Competition Thwarts the Greed of the Political Class
Posted in Competitiveness, Economics, England, Jurisdictional Competition, Tax Competition, Taxation, United Kingdom, tagged Competitiveness, Economics, England, Jurisdictional Competition, Tax Competition, Taxation, United Kingdom on April 21, 2015| 16 Comments »
There are some things in life that are guaranteed to make me smile. Georgia Bulldog victories are on that list, of course, and I also relish occasional moments of glory on the softball field. Shifting to the world of public policy, nothing warms my heart and brings a smile to my face faster than news […]
A Perfect Example of How Tax Competition Constrains Greedy Government
Posted in Centralization, Economics, England, Fiscal Policy, Gun control, Jurisdictional Competition, Migration, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Taxation, United Kingdom, tagged Centralization, Economics, England, Fiscal Policy, Gun control, Jurisdictional Competition, Migration, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Taxation, United Kingdom on February 4, 2015| 26 Comments »
I’m a relentless (probably to the point of being annoying) proponent of tax competition among jurisdictions. It’s one of the reasons why I favor tax havens and federalism. Simply stated, politicians are less likely to do bad things when they know economic activity can escape to places with better policy. And I’m more than happy […]
If You Want Better Business Tax Policy, Handcuff Politicians with Pro-Growth Forms of Tax Competition
Posted in Competitiveness, Fiscal Policy, Jurisdictional Competition, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Sovereignty, Tax Competition, Tax Compliance, Tax Harmonization, Taxation, tagged Competitiveness, Fiscal Policy, Jurisdictional Competition, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Sovereignty, Tax Competition, Tax Compliance, Tax Harmonization, Taxation on November 21, 2014| 12 Comments »
Tax competition is a very important tool for constraining the greed of the political class. Simply stated, politicians are less likely to impose bad tax policy if they are afraid that jobs and investment (and accompanying tax revenue) will move to jurisdictions with better tax policy. This works to limit revenue grabs by politicians at […]
Tax Havens and Tax Competition Are Crucial if We Want to Restrain Predatory Government
Posted in Economics, Financial Privacy, Fiscal Policy, Jurisdictional Competition, Sovereignty, Tax Competition, Tax Haven, Taxation, tagged Economics, Financial Privacy, Fiscal Policy, Jurisdictional Competition, Sovereignty, Tax Competition, Tax Haven, Taxation on September 5, 2013| 40 Comments »
I’m very worried about America’s fiscal future. Simply stated, data from several sources (BIS, OECD, and IMF) indicates that we face a future Greek-style fiscal crisis unless policy makers implement genuine entitlement reform. Unfortunately, politicians have little incentive to control spending and reform programs if they think that higher taxes are an option. So how […]
Two Cheers to the Obama Administration for Resisting French Anti-Tax Competition Scheme
Posted in Big Government, Corporate income tax, Corporate tax, Economics, Fiscal Policy, France, Global Taxation, International Taxation, Obama, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax Harmonization, Taxation, tagged BEPS, Big Government, Corporate income tax, Corporate tax, Economics, Fiscal Policy, France, Global Taxation, International Taxation, Obama, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax Harmonization, Taxation on July 15, 2013| 5 Comments »
I damned Obama with faint praise last year by asserting that he would never be able to make America as statist as France. My main point was to explain that the French people, notwithstanding their many positive attributes, seem hopelessly statist. At least that’s how they vote, even though they supposedly support spending cuts according […]
OECD Study Admits Income Taxes Penalize Growth, Acknowledges that Tax Competition Restrains Excessive Government
Posted in Corporate income tax, Corporate tax, Economics, Fiscal Policy, Government Spending, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Switzerland, Tax Competition, Taxation, tagged Corporate income tax, Corporate tax, Economics, Fiscal Policy, Government Spending, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Switzerland, Tax Competition, Taxation on May 17, 2013| 28 Comments »
I have to start this post with a big caveat. I’m not a fan of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The international bureaucracy is infamous for using American tax dollars to promote a statist economic agenda. Most recently, it launched a new scheme to raise the tax burden on multinational companies, which […]
New European Data: When Tax Competition Is Weakened, Politicians Respond by Increasing Tax Rates
Posted in Financial Privacy, Marginal Tax Rate, Tax Competition, Tax Haven, Taxation, tagged Financial Privacy, Marginal Tax Rate, Tax Competition, Tax Haven, Taxation on May 2, 2013| 30 Comments »
I often argue that we need to preserve tax competition and tax havens in order to limit the greed of the political class. Without some sort of external constraint, they will over-tax and over-spend, creating the kind of downward economic spiral already happening in some European nations. Speaking of which, new evidence from Europe bolsters […]
Guided by the Spirit of Fox Butterfield, the New York Times Inadvertently Confirms that Tax Competition Is Needed to Curtail Government Greed
Posted in Higher Taxes, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax evasion, Tax Haven, Tax Increase, Taxation, tagged Higher Taxes, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax evasion, Tax Haven, Tax Increase, Taxation on December 7, 2012| 20 Comments »
More than two years ago, while writing about the Laffer Curve, I described the “Butterfield Effect.” A former reporter for the New York Times, Fox Butterfield, became a bit of a laughingstock in the 1990s for publishing a series of articles addressing the supposed quandary of how crime rates could be falling during periods when […]
Just as “Fair Trade” Means Protectionism for the Benefit of Special Interests, “Fair Tax Competition” Means Tax Harmonization for the Benefit of Politicians
Posted in Economics, Europe, European Commission, Fiscal Policy, Global Taxation, International Taxation, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax evasion, Tax Harmonization, Taxation, tagged Economics, Europe, European Commission, Fiscal Policy, Global Taxation, International Taxation, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax evasion, Tax Harmonization, Taxation on September 20, 2012| 17 Comments »
Very few people are willing to admit that they favor protectionism. After all, who wants to embrace a policy associated with the Great Depression? But people sometimes say “I want free trade so long as it’s fair trade.” In most cases, they’re simply protectionists who are too clever to admit their true agenda There’s a […]
Study from German Economists Shows that Tax Competition and Fiscal Decentralization Limit Income Redistribution
Posted in Competitiveness, Economics, Global Taxation, Harmonization, International Taxation, Jurisdictional Competition, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax evasion, Tax Harmonization, Taxation, tagged Competitiveness, Economics, Global Taxation, Harmonization, International Taxation, Jurisdictional Competition, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax evasion, Tax Harmonization, Taxation on September 4, 2012| 28 Comments »
If we want to avoid the kind of Greek-style fiscal collapse implied by this BIS and OECD data, we need some external force to limit the tendency of politicians to over-tax and over-spend. That’s why I’m a big advocate of tax competition, fiscal sovereignty, and financial privacy (read Pierre Bessard and Allister Heath to understand […]
Patriotism, Loyalty, Tax Competition, and “Tax Fugitives”
Posted in Fiscal Policy, Global Taxation, Government Thuggery, International bureaucracy, International Taxation, IRS, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Sovereignty, Switzerland, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax Compliance, Tax evasion, Tax Harmonization, Tax Haven, Taxation, tagged Fiscal Sovereignty, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Switzerland, Tax Competition on February 19, 2012| 32 Comments »
I fight to preserve tax competition, fiscal sovereignty, and financial privacy for the simple reason that politicians are less likely to impose destructive tax policy if they know that labor and capital can escape to jurisdictions with more responsible fiscal climates. My opponents in this battle are high-tax governments, statist international bureaucracies such as the […]
Another Much-Needed Defense of Tax Competition and Tax Havens by a British Politician
Posted in Competitiveness, Economics, England, Europe, Financial Privacy, Fiscal Policy, Global Taxation, International Taxation, Jurisdictional Competition, Sovereignty, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax Compliance, Tax evasion, Tax Harmonization, Tax Haven, Taxation, tagged Fiscal Sovereignty, Freedom, International Taxation, Jurisdictional Competition, Liberty, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Sovereignty, Tax Competition, Tax Harmonization, Tax Haven, Taxation on January 18, 2012| 8 Comments »
I sometimes make fun of the English, for reasons ranging from asinine laws to milquetoast politicians to horrid healthcare policy. But at least some U.K. elected officials are willing to stand up for tax competition and fiscal sovereignty by defending low-tax jurisdictions. In previous posts, I’ve applauded Dan Hannan and Godfrey Bloom for great speeches […]
With the Support of the Obama Administration, Paris-Based OECD Now Wants De Facto World Tax Organization as Part of its Anti-Tax Competition Campaign
Posted in Big Government, Fiscal Policy, Government Thuggery, International bureaucracy, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Sovereignty, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax evasion, Tax Harmonization, Tax Haven, Taxation, tagged Big Government, Fiscal Policy, Fiscal Sovereignty, Government Thuggery, International bureaucracy, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Sovereignty, Tax avoidance, Tax Competitioin, Tax evasion, Tax Haven, Taxation on June 1, 2011| 86 Comments »
I’ve been battling the Organization for Economic Cooperation for years, ever since the Paris-based bureaucracy unveiled its “harmful tax competition” project in the late 1990s. Controlled by Europe’s high-tax welfare states, the OECD wants to prop up the fiscal systems of nations such as Greece and France by hindering the flow of jobs and capital […]
New Paper Explains Why Low-Tax Jurisdictions Should Resist OECD Attacks Against Tax Competition and Fiscal Sovereignty
Posted in Big Government, Economics, Europe, Fiscal Policy, Government Spending, International bureaucracy, International Taxation, Jurisdictional Competition, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Sovereignty, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax evasion, Tax Haven, Taxation, Video, tagged Big Government, Economics, Europe, Fiscal Policy, Fiscal Sovereignty, Government Spending, International bureaucracy, International Taxation, Jurisdictional Competition, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Sovereignty, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax evasion, Taxation, Video on May 24, 2011| 27 Comments »
One of the biggest threats against global prosperity is the anti-tax competition project of a Paris-based international bureaucracy known as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The OECD, acting at the behest of the European welfare states that dominate its membership, wants the power to tell nations (including the United States!) what is acceptable […]
Jeffrey Sachs and the Fictional “Race to the Bottom” Caused by Tax Competition
Posted in Corporate income tax, Corporate tax, International Taxation, Laffer Curve, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Tax Competition, Tax Harmonization, tagged Corporate income tax, Jeffrey Sachs, Laffer Curve, OECD, Race to the Bottom, Tax Cartel, Tax Competition, Tax Harmonization on March 30, 2011| 36 Comments »
Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University is a big booster of the discredited notion that foreign aid is a cure-all for poverty in the developing world, but he is now branching out and saying silly things about policy in other areas. In a column for the Financial Times, he complains that tax competition is forcing governments […]
British Business Writer Explains: Thanks to Tax Competition and Tax Havens, the Greed of the Political Class Is Being Constrained
Posted in Dan Hannan, Economics, Financial Privacy, Fiscal Policy, Freedom, International Taxation, Jurisdictional Competition, Liberty, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Sovereignty, Tax Competition, Tax Harmonization, Tax Haven, Taxation, tagged Allister Heath, Dan Hannan, Fiscal Sovereignty, Freedom, International Taxation, Jurisdictional Competition, Liberty, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Sovereignty, Tax Competition, Tax Harmonization, Tax Haven, Taxation on March 20, 2011| 167 Comments »
Regular readers know that I’m a big fan of tax competition because politicians are less likely to misbehave if the potential victims of plunder have the ability to escape across borders. Here is an excerpt from a superb article by Allister Heath, one of the U.K.’s best writers on economic and business issues. In a […]
Suddenly, I Like Soccer (at least When It Confirms Supply-Side Economics, Tax Competition, and the Laffer Curve)
Posted in Laffer Curve, Supply-side economics, Tax Competition, Taxation, tagged Laffer Curve, Marginal tax rates, Soccer, Supply-side economics, Tax Competition on March 13, 2011| 17 Comments »
I don’t particularly like soccer and I’m not normally a fan of the research of Professor Emannuel Saez, so it is rather surprising that I like Professor Saez’s new research on taxes and soccer. While Saez may have a reputation for doing work that often is used by advocates of class warfare, his latest research […]
New Video Explains that Tax Competition Is a Powerful Mechanism to Restrain the Greed of the Political Class
Posted in Economics, Fiscal Policy, International bureaucracy, Jurisdictional Competition, OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Privacy, Sovereignty, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax Compliance, Tax evasion, Tax Harmonization, Tax Haven, Taxation, tagged Economics, Financial Privacy, Fiscal Policy, Fiscal Sovereignty, International bureaucracy, OECD, Privacy, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax evasion, Taxation on March 1, 2011| 10 Comments »
Here’s a new mini-documentary from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, narrated by Natasha Montague of Americans for Tax Reform, that explains why the process of tax competition is a critical constraint on the propensity of governments to over-tax and over-spend. The issue is very simple. When labor and capital have the ability to escape […]
If We Value Liberty and Prosperity, We Better Defend Tax Competition and Fight for Fiscal Sovereignty
Posted in Big Government, Competitiveness, Europe, Financial Privacy, Global Taxation, International Taxation, Jurisdictional Competition, OECD, Sovereignty, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax evasion, Tax Harmonization, Tax Haven, Taxation, Welfare State, tagged Europe, Fiscal Sovereignty, Jurisdictional Competition, Sovereignty, Tax avoidance, Tax Competition, Tax evasion, Tax Haven, Taxation, Welfare State on December 14, 2010| 31 Comments »
Regular readers know that I am a tireless advocate for tax competition, which exists when governments are encouraged to adopt better tax policy in order to attract/retain jobs and investment. In other words, I want governments to compete with each other because that leads to better policy, just as we get better results as consumers […]