I’m told I was in Le Monde this weekend, being quoted about Bono. But what added a touch of irony was that on the opposite page was an advert for the new ‘tax heaven’ (paradis fiscaux) of Macedonia. I can’t find an on-line version of the ad, so I’ve made it available here and I’m [...]
The Wall Street Journal published an editorial on 30 January (hidden behind their subscription wall) in which they challenged the assumption, inherent in recent Senate hearings, that tackling the Tax gap is a good idea. According to reports, the WSJ says:
The problem is that most of the financial and social costs [of tackling the Tax [...]
A surprisingly well balanced review of the current state of flat taxes is to be found in last week’s Economist. It concludes:
On balance, it would seem that the flat-tax revolution is more likely than not to slow, and even reverse eventually, as the income gap between western and east-central Europe narrows.
In other words, the phenomena [...]
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Thee IMF has issued a new report on flat tax. Entitled ‘The “Flat Tax(es)”: Principles and Evidence‘ he report has been written by Mick Keen, Kevin Kim and Ricardo Varsano at the IMF.
I’m immensely pleased to see this report come out. There is probably no one better to lead write it than Mick Keen, a [...]
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There was a fascinating story in the Kyiv Post yesterday (and yes, it always surprise me quite what it’s possible to find on the Internet). The Ukraine is, of course, one of the so-called ‘flat tax’ states. It’s had a 13% flat tax since 2004. But all is not well.
First of all, the rate is [...]
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The World Economic Forum has reported that Switzerland, Sweden and Finland are the most competitive economies in the world. According to a report on Tax News.Com:
The Global Competitiveness Report 2006-2007, released Tuesday, said that Switzerland and the Nordic countries topped this year’s global ranking due to their sound institutions, competent macroeconomic management, world-class education systems, [...]
Someone asked me to write a brief piece on why flat taxes would not work, so I did. And I thought I’d share it. This is what I wrote:
The flat tax debate in the UK is a non-starter for five reasons. Firstly, flat tax is not simple. Apart from simplifying the calculation of the actual [...]
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I’ve been in discussion with several people about my post on the Joseph Rowntree’s flat tax report, and have been challenged to say what I would have done if them. That is relatively easy to do.
Their work recognises something I, and all serious researchers in this area know - which is that the highest marginal [...]
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The Joseph Rowntree Foundation have brought out a report on flat tax. The right wing of British politics are rubbing their hands with glee. And I’m not surprised. Despite some input from the Institute of Fiscal Studies this is a pretty poor piece of work.
Just three references are cited other than the IFS data on [...]
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Many accountants are attracted to the idea of a flat tax. The most common form of that tax, and the one most often referred to in the press is that created by Alvin Rabuska and Robert Hall. However, to understand flat tax it is necessary to explain four myths that lead to one truth - [...]
