Tax policy

Archive for Tax policy

Wealth vs. Income Taxes

Ever since wealth taxes have entered the political discussion, I’ve been trying to put my finger on why they are even more destructive than income taxes. Some early attempts had people arguing that–if we assume assets are earning 3%–then a 3% wealth tax operates just like a 103% income tax. However, that wasn’t quite right, […]

Is Tyler Right About Defending Against an Inflation Tax?

In a post talking about Libra, Tyler Cowen makes this argument: Let’s say the core rate of inflation in a country is eight percent, which is about the current rate of price inflation in Myanmar. It is still not the case that an unbanked farmer holds currency for the entire year (he is more likely […]

Tax Reform

I have a new post at IER talking about tax reform. I used this chart to argue that it’s totally fine for GOP to cut taxes, period. (No need for “revenue neutrality.”) If you’re worried about the debt–which you should be–then cut spending too, which is also at historically high levels.

Choosing the Ceteris Depending on the Desired Paribus

Let me repeat for newcomers: I am friends with Don Boudreaux and have made sure (over email) that he knows my intentions are pure when I do posts like this. I’m not “blowing him up,” it’s just that I only read a few blogs and so if I talk about something here, it will often […]

Debt vs. Equity Finance and Interest Deductibility

In reaction to my Congressional testimony–where I said I didn’t think the federal government should tax interest payments, if they are retaining a corporate income tax–Roger Barris objected. He claimed that I was ignoring the lessons of Finance 101, and in particular the famous Modigliani-Miller theorem. I must confess that his initial stance annoyed me; […]

Murphy on Tax Policy on Energy Markets

The greatest hits (of me) from the House Subcommittee on Energy hearing on Wednesday. The video has a short intro by the Chair of the Subcommittee, then my 5 minute opening statement, then the back-and-forth anytime a Congressperson asked me a question in the Q&A.

Yet Another Podcast Twin Spin

==> In Episode 78 of Contra Krugman, we talk about Krugman railing against the anti-reality Republicans. I am swamped with work so I have to be brief in my outline: 6:00 I remind people that it was progressive Democrats who started using the phrase “fake news” as a political weapon. 8:25 Tom explains that he […]