Taxes

In the New York Times of March 5th, economist Tyler Cowen gives his opinion on the situation prevailing in the United States – with a debt of $9 trillion (€ 6 435 billion). Citizens, he explains, are victims of a fiscal illusion and politicians know it. To get out of that vicious circle, Cowen suggests that we listen to the wisdom of Buchanan: “Professor Buchanan argued that the real choice was between a religion of budget balance and a rule of illusion.

The latest video from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity explains why the process of tax competition is a critical constraint on the propensity of governments to over-tax and over-spend.…

Environmental tax reforms have a history of almost two decades and were viewed as a way to the better world the “double-dividend” theory predicted. Much “political capital” has been invested in policies leading to environmental tax reforms on European and national levels from 1992 (the year of the first EU-wide energy and carbon tax proposal) till today. In this report, the authors compare shares of environmental taxes on GDP and overall tax revenues in the EU from 1995 till 2010 to identify the real impact of such efforts.

The current Socialist (PSOE) government in Spain has claimed in different occasions that the low fiscal pressure that Spain has experienced in 2008 and 2009, gives policy-makers a large leeway to raise taxes. Besides, this measure has been supported as necessary in order to maintain –or improve- the current government-run social safety net and the level of public infrastructures. Angel Martin explains why raising taxes in Spain is not a really good idea.

You can find here a selection of reports and papers on taxation in the EU and in European member States.

After the huge increase of public deficits during the past two years, the French government is claiming the beginning of a new era and promises to limit the budget deficit to 6 GDP points in 2011 (down from 7.7% in 2010). If this 1.7 GDP points reduction of deficit is reached, it will be the first time in 50 years that such an effort to restrict public spending ends with success. But will the government reached the target this time?

To denounce others to Authorities is unfortunately a frequent behavior that responds to the basest instincts of human beings: the desire for revenge, jealousy, collaboration with the ruling power.

Less than one month after the final vote of the 2011 Tax Law, members of the French government are revealing that there are projects for several important fiscal reforms in the following months.

The Commission has requested Spain, under EU state aid rules, to abolish a 2002 provision in its corporate tax that allows Spanish companies to amortise ‘financial goodwill’ deriving from acquisitions of shareholdings in companies in third countries. The Commission also asks for the recovery of any aid granted under this provision since 21 December 2007 where concrete legal obstacles to investment could not be demonstrated.

While governments are tempted to raise taxes on capital gain in order to reduce their public deficits, the study realized by the London based Adam Smith Institute explains why the temptation should be resisted. Based on clear economic reasoning and on evidence from the US, Australia and Canada, they show that there is a Laffer curve effect at work; one that is probably stronger than in the case of personal income tax. In other words: higher capital gains tax rates are very likely to give lower tax revenues.