On November 17, economists Len Burman and Marvin Phaup posted a commentary on tax expenditures, arguing that such “tax cuts” don’t reduce the size of government, only disguise it.
Also on November 17, economists Peter Diamond and Emmanuel Saez published an article on the case for a progressive tax system.
And on November 17, the Tax Policy Center posted distribution tables for a proposal to reduce statutory income tax rates by 20 percent.
On November 15, a group of large multinational corporations wrote a letter to the president and congressional leaders on why they should get a big tax cut on their earnings in foreign countries.
A November 14 Battleground poll found overwhelming support for closing tax loopholes and reforming the tax code, with two-third of people favoring higher taxes on the rich and corporations.
On November 14, Americans for Fair Taxation posted new data showing that the so-called FairTax would have increased the federal tax burden by $171 billion in 2009 and $267 billion in 2010.
On November 10, the World Bank published the latest edition of its annual “paying taxes” report. Among the findings: worldwide tax rates on business profits have fallen 7.4 percentage points over the last 7 years.
In a November 10 commentary, Johns Hopkins University economist Mitchell Orenstein examined the reasons why some European countries have adopted flat tax systems and finds that they are not relevant to circumstances in the U.S.
On November 3, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development published a series of working papers on tax reform.
On October 1, KPMG published the 2011 edition of its Corporate and Indirect Tax Survey.
I last posted items on this topic on November 11.
Bruce Bartlett is an American historian and columnist who focuses on the intersection between politics and economics. He blogs daily and writes a weekly column for The Fiscal Times. Bartlett has written for Forbes Magazine and Creators Syndicate, and his work is informed by many years in government, including as a senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House. He is the author of seven books including his new book: The Benefit and the Burden.
