DOCSLIB.ORG

The Limits to Tax: Efficiency, Equity and International Competition

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Limits to Tax: Efficiency, Equity and International Competition The Limits to Tax 5/12/06 3:14 pm Page 1 Irwin Stelzer The Limits to Tax: Efficiency, Equity and International Competition The Limits to Tax 5/12/06 3:14 pm Page 2 POLITEIA: A Forum for Social and Economic Thinking Politeia commissions and publishes discussions by specialists about social and economic ideas and policies. It aims to encourage public discussion on the relationship between the state and the people. Its aim is not to influence people to support any given political party, candidates for election, or position in a referendum, but to inform public discussion of policy. The forum is independently funded, and the publications do not express a corporate opinion, but the views of their individual authors. Patron The Most Hon The Marquess of Salisbury DL Director Dr Sheila Lawlor Advisory Council Professor Tim Congdon CBE Professor David Dilks Professor Harold James Professor Deepak Lal Sir Geoffrey Leigh The Rt Hon Oliver Letwin MP The Rt Hon Francis Maude MP Stuart Wheeler David Willetts MP Sir Brian Williamson CBE Founder Directors Maurice Cowling (d. August 2005) Sheila Lawlor The Reverend Canon The Lord Pilkington of Oxenford The Limits to Tax 5/12/06 3:14 pm Page 3 The Limits to Tax: Efficiency, Equity and International Competition Irwin Stelzer POLITEIA 2006 The Limits to Tax 5/12/06 3:14 pm Page 4 First published in 2006 by Politeia 22 Charing Cross Road London WC2H 0QP Tel: 020 7240 5070 Fax: 020 7240 5095 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.politeia.co.uk © Politeia 2006 Policy Series No. 55 Support for this study has been granted by the Foundation for Social and Economic Thinking Politeia gratefully acknowledges support towards the tax series from Ernst & Young LLP ISBN 1 900 525 87 9 Cover design by John Marenbon Printed in Great Britain by 4 Print 138 Molesey Avenue West Molesey Surrey KT8 2RY The Limits to Tax 5/12/06 3:14 pm Page 5 The Author Dr Irwin Stelzer is Director of Economic Policy Studies at the Hudson Institute in Washington and a columnist both in the US and London where he writes for The Sunday Times. His academic career has been mainly in the US, where he has taught at Cornell University, The University of Connecticut and New York University. He has widely written on economic, regulatory and antitrust law subjects. For Politeia he has written, Good for the Public! Competition, technology and the shrinking state (February 2006). The Limits to Tax 5/12/06 3:14 pm Page 6 CONTENTS Introduction 1 I The Economy and Tax Policy: To cut … or not to cut? 2 II Tax, Society and the Expanding State 7 III Competition, a Shrinking State and Economic Growth 10 IV A New Tax Debate 14 The Limits to Tax 5/12/06 3:14 pm Page 1 Introduction I approach this assignment with some trepidation, for three reasons. First, Politeia has already sponsored so much good work on tax policy that I fear I have very little to add. Second, the various aspects of tax policy are too numerous to address in a brief pamphlet. As Eugene Steuerile has pointed out, tax policy today involves far more than issues of how to collect revenues fairly and efficiently. It has evolved into a major tool for both macro and monetary policy and, more than ever, for expenditure and social policy.1 We know that tax policy affects economic growth; that it is related to monetary policy, with loose fiscal policy heightening central bankers’ fears of inflation sufficiently to affect their decisions on interest rates; and that every decent society accepts the fact that tax policy must be sufficiently humane to permit those disadvantaged by circumstances beyond their control to afford a decent existence. Third, I do not want to overemphasise the effect of tax policy on economic growth. High-tax jurisdictions with superb transport and other public services can be more attractive to businesses, and to the highly educated employees on whom they increasingly rely, than low-tax jurisdictions with poor transport, rotten schools and polluted air. Worst of all, of course, are high-tax jurisdictions with public services so inefficient that the high level of expenditure does not produce an attractive level of services. With these caveats, I will try to add something useful to Politeia’s extensive discussion of this immensely important subject. 1 Eugene Steuerle, ‘Tax Policy From 1990 to 2001’, in American Economic Policy in the 1990s, Jeffrey Frankel and Peter Orszag (eds.). Cambridge, Mass., MIT Press, 2002, p.139. Mr Steuerle is a Senior Fellow at the Urban Institute, and has served in the Treasury Department under four different presidents. The Limits to Tax 5/12/06 3:14 pm Page 2 I The Economy and Tax Policy: To cut … or not to cut? This is a good time to discuss tax policy, since rarely has there been so much nonsense spoken by politicians of all stripes on this subject. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, a man with a complete and deep understanding of the theory of taxation, seems committed to a perpetual increase in the tax burden, despite what he sees before him: the stagnant, high-tax, major European economies; a rapidly growing, low-tax Ireland; and the flight of capital to low-tax Eastern Europe. None of these factors, nor the demonstrated inefficiency with which the state disposes of its taxpayers’ hard-earned funds, appears to suggest to the Chancellor that he is steering the British economy from the prosperous condition in which he found it to stagnation at best, and penury at worst. On the other side of the aisle we have a Tory Party that has managed to insulate itself from the past decade’s learning about the relationship between taxation and fiscal stability – what is called in the trade ‘dynamic scoring’ which counts against revenues foregone those generated by cuts in tax rates. The shadow chancellor would have us believe that our choice is between tax cuts and economic stability. In fact, properly crafted tax cuts contribute to, rather than detract from, economic stability. Before deciding that tax cuts are dangerous to a nation’s economic health, and contribute to the ‘black holes’ that so worry the City, ‘we must carefully think through what happens to the overall economy as well as to individual taxpayers when tax rates are cut.’2 Larry Lindsey, the economist who crafted the tax cuts that helped President Bush rescue America from a recession, and whom I have just quoted, points out that the direct effect of a tax cut is to reduce revenues, other things remaining equal. But, he quickly adds, in the case of other-than trivial tax cuts, other things do not remain equal: tax rates affect economic behaviour. For one thing, a reduction in tax rates allows workers and 2 Lawrence B. Lindsey, The Growth Experiment: How The New Tax Policy Is Transforming the U.S. Economy. New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1990, p.57. 2 The Limits to Tax 5/12/06 3:14 pm Page 3 The Limits to Tax: Efficiency, Equity and International Competition entrepreneurs to keep more of what they earn. That increases their incentive to work harder, and to take risks, both of which stimulate economic growth and, with it, tax receipts. A reduction in tax rates also stimulates inbound investment,3 other things being equal – a phrase I add to make it clear that I doubt that Mr Mugabe could do much to his nation’s tax structure to make Zimbabwe attractive to foreign investors. Whether the increase in receipts will compensate fully, or more, for the revenue loss resulting from a reduction in tax rates will depend on many factors, including the precise nature of the reduction in rates; the stage of the business cycle at the time the reductions become effective; and cultural factors that affect the elasticity of the supply curve of labour and of entrepreneurship. The trade-off between work and leisure, and risk and safety, varies from country to country. There is another effect of a reduction in tax rates that cannot be ignored. Lowering the tax on corporate profits makes it more attractive to own shares, since a large portion of pre-tax profits flows through to shareholders, and less attractive to incur debt, since the deductible feature of interest payments becomes less valuable. Those who worry about over-leveraging might give this effect of a reduction of tax rates, especially corporate tax rates, some thought. They encourage higher equity: debt ratios. Finally, in a world in which international competition is becoming more heated, the ability of capital to flow more or less freely across borders (with the possible exception of the borders of France) allows companies to flee high-tax jurisdictions in favour of countries with more benign and welcoming tax regimes, taking jobs with them. This potential for relocation of investment and jobs in response to tax differences is not as great as some industry associations allege: as I have said, tax rates are only one component of any location decision. But neither is it a factor that finance ministers and politicians can ignore, witness the east-bound movement of some segments of German industry, and the desire of France’s politicians, including the so-called reformers, to ‘harmonise’ tax rates throughout the EU in order to eliminate the competitive disadvantage under which France’s highly taxed industries operate. 3 ‘This study demonstrates with great clarity that countries cutting taxes – especially on business – see more inward investment, higher growth and higher tax revenues.’ Charlie Elphicke and William Norton, ‘The Case For Reducing Business Taxes’, Centre for Policy Studies, London, February 2006, p.1.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Introduction
    NOTES Introduction 1. Robert Kagan to George Packer. Cited in Packer’s The Assassin’s Gate: America In Iraq (Faber and Faber, London, 2006): 38. 2. Stefan Halper and Jonathan Clarke, America Alone: The Neoconservatives and the Global Order (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004): 9. 3. Critiques of the war on terror and its origins include Gary Dorrien, Imperial Designs: Neoconservatism and the New Pax Americana (Routledge, New York and London, 2004); Francis Fukuyama, After the Neocons: America At the Crossroads (Profile Books, London, 2006); Ira Chernus, Monsters to Destroy: The Neoconservative War on Terror and Sin (Paradigm Publishers, Boulder, CO and London, 2006); and Jacob Heilbrunn, They Knew They Were Right: The Rise of the Neocons (Doubleday, New York, 2008). 4. A report of the PNAC, Rebuilding America’s Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources for a New Century, September 2000: 76. URL: http:// www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf (15 January 2009). 5. On the first generation on Cold War neoconservatives, which has been covered far more extensively than the second, see Gary Dorrien, The Neoconservative Mind: Politics, Culture and the War of Ideology (Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 1993); Peter Steinfels, The Neoconservatives: The Men Who Are Changing America’s Politics (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1979); Murray Friedman, The Neoconservative Revolution: Jewish Intellectuals and the Shaping of Public Policy (Cambridge University Press, New York, 2005); Murray Friedman ed. Commentary in American Life (Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 2005); Mark Gerson, The Neoconservative Vision: From the Cold War to the Culture Wars (Madison Books, Lanham MD; New York; Oxford, 1997); and Maria Ryan, “Neoconservative Intellectuals and the Limitations of Governing: The Reagan Administration and the Demise of the Cold War,” Comparative American Studies, Vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Theoretical Framework
    Ascendancy to Power – a Structural Realist Account of the Neo-Conservatives’ Rising Influence Over American Foreign Policy By Elvin Gjevori Submitted to Central European University Department of International Relations and European Studies In Partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in International Relations and European Studies Supervisor: Professor Erin Kristin Jenne CEU eTD Collection Budapest, Hungary 2007 (17,238 words) i Abstract Neo-conservatism is a doctrine that has been increasingly analyzed and debated in the last years because of its growing influence on the foreign policy of the United States. Despite the growing body of scholarship on the movement, little or no attention has been paid to the structural causes of the neocons’ success in influencing U.S. foreign policy, with most authors focused on personalities and historical moments to account for their increasing influence on American foreign policy. In contrast to accounts that rely on historically contingent events, this thesis provides a structural realist account of the growing influence of the neo-conservative ideology on American foreign policy in the later part of the twentieth century and at the turn of the twenty-first century. The thesis shows that the ascendancy of neocons to power is best understood by analyzing the permissive structural conditions of the international system after the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the USSR. CEU eTD Collection ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................................II
    [Show full text]
  • Neoconservatives Among Us? Astudy of Former Dissidents' Discourse
    43 L 62 Neoconservatives Among Us? A Study of Former Dissidents’ Discourse* JENI SCHALLER Abstract: Neoconservative political thought has been characterized as “distinctly American”, but could there be fertile ground for its basic tenets in post-communist Europe? This paper takes an initial look at the acceptance of the ideas of American neo- conservative foreign policy among Czech elites who were dissidents under the communist regime. Open-ended, semi-structured interviews with eight former dissidents were con- ducted and then analyzed against a background of some fundamental features of neocon- servative foreign policy. Discourse analysis is the primary method of examination of the texts. Although a coherent discourse among Czech former dissidents cannot be said to ex- ist, certain aspects reminiscent of American neoconservative thought were found. Key words: neoconservatism, Czech dissidents, foreign policy, discourse analysis I. INTRODUCTION Neoconservatism, as a strain of political thought in the United States, has been represented as “distinctly American” and Irving Kristol, often considered the “godfather” of neoconservatism, emphatically states “[t]here is nothing like neoconservatism in Europe” (Kristol 2003: 33). Analyst Jeffrey Gedmin writes that the “environment for neoconservatism as such is an inhospitable one” in Europe, especially Germany (Gedmin 2004: 291). The states of Cen- tral Europe, in contrast to many of the established continental EU members, represent a rather more pro-American stance. With groups of former dissi- dents whose political leanings are in part informed by the American anti- communist, pro-democracy policies of the 1970s and 1980s, could there be a more hospitable environment for neoconservative ideas in a Central Euro- pean state such as the Czech Republic? The Czech dissident community was not as extensive or well-organised as that in Poland or even Hungary, largely due to the post-1968 “normalisation” in Czechoslovakia.
    [Show full text]
  • Carbon Taxes: an Opportunity for Conservatives
    BRIEFING PAPER Carbon Taxes: An Opportunity for Conservatives By Irwin Stelzer March 2011 Carbon Taxes: An Opportunity for Conservatives Irwin Stelzer March 2011 © 2011 Hudson Institute Hudson Institute is a nonpartisan, independent policy research organization. Founded in 1961, Hudson is celebrating a half century of forging ideas that promote security, prosperity, and freedom. www.hudson.org t is always troubling when conservatives emulate Yasser Arafat and never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Conservatives have before them a golden I opportunity to accomplish several important conservative goals, but are so frightened by words like “tax”, “cap and trade”, “global warming” and the like that they are frozen in opposition to programs they should support. Forget about the battle over global warming. The earth either is or isn’t warming. If it is, that is either the result of human activity or it isn’t. If it is the result of human activity, either an American initiative will shame China and India into following suit, or it won’t. No matter. The appropriate policy towards carbon emissions has little or nothing to do with those controversies, or at least should not for conservatives. They should focus on multiple opportunities to advance the conservative agenda: ¾ advance national security interests by reducing dependence on oil imports; ¾ stem the flow of dollars to the bad guys; ¾ lower taxes on jobs; ¾ eliminate the rationale for subsidizing uneconomic energy sources; ¾ reduce the drive for regulation of the energy economy; ¾ gain a revenue source that might be needed when the grand bargain over entitlements is struck.
    [Show full text]
  • The Weekly Standard…Don’T Settle for Less
    “THE ORACLE OF AMERICAN POLITICS” — Wolf Blitzer, CNN …don’t settle for less. POSITIONING STATEMENT The Weekly Standard…don’t settle for less. Through original reporting and prose known for its boldness and wit, The Weekly Standard and weeklystandard.com serve an audience of more than 3.2 million readers each month. First-rate writers compose timely articles and features on politics and elections, defense and foreign policy, domestic policy and the courts, books, art and culture. Readers whose primary common interests are the political developments of the day value the critical thinking, rigorous thought, challenging ideas and compelling solutions presented in The Weekly Standard print and online. …don’t settle for less. EDITORIAL: CONTENT PROFILE The Weekly Standard: an informed perspective on news and issues. 18% Defense and 24% Foreign Policy Books and Arts 30% Politics and 28% Elections Domestic Policy and the Courts The value to The Weekly Standard reader is the sum of the parts, the interesting mix of content, the variety of topics, type of writers and topics covered. There is such a breadth of content from topical pieces to cultural commentary. Bill Kristol, Editor …don’t settle for less. EDITORIAL: WRITERS Who writes matters: outstanding political writers with a compelling point of view. William Kristol, Editor Supreme Court and the White House for the Star before moving to the Baltimore Sun, where he was the national In 1995, together with Fred Barnes and political correspondent. From 1985 to 1995, he was John Podhoretz, William Kristol founded a senior editor and White House correspondent for The new magazine of politics and culture New Republic.
    [Show full text]
  • The Neoconservative Persuasion: Selected Essays, 1942-2009
    PHILANTHROPY / EVENT TRANSCRIPT The Neoconservative Persuasion: Selected Essays, 1942-2009 By Irving Kristol Edited by Gertrude Himmelfarb February 2, 2011 Panel Discussion of The Neoconservative Persuasion: Selected Essays, 1942-2009 By Irving Kristol Edited by Gertrude Himmelfarb Wednesday, February 2, 2011 Table of Contents Ken Weinstein 1 Amy Kass 1 Charles Krauthammer 3 Irwin Stelzer 7 Leon Kass 11 William Kristol 15 Q&A 23 Gertrude Himmelfarb (“Bea Kristol”) 30 Speaker Biographies 31 © 2011 Hudson Institute Hudson Institute is a nonpartisan, independent policy research organization. Founded in 1961, Hudson is celebrating a half century of forging ideas that promote security, prosperity, and freedom. www.hudson.org Ken Weinstein Good afternoon. I’m Ken Weinstein, CEO of Hudson Institute. I’d like to welcome everyone to today’s Book Forum on the newly published The Neoconservative Persuasion: Selected Essays 1942- 2009, by Irving Kristol, which has been edited by the redoubtable Gertrude Himmelfarb. The book is available for sale in the back at the discounted price of $20, and I urge all of you to get one before you leave. This is a truly remarkable book, one that shows the breadth and the depth of Irving Kristol’s thought over some 67 years, which you’ll be hearing about shortly. My colleagues and I frankly feel privileged that Hudson Institute is the venue for today’s book forum, and I should thank the book’s editor, Gertrude Himmelfarb, for giving us this auspicious honor. (Applause.) We have a truly distinguished panel, who will offer their reflections shortly, but before we get underway I should note that this is Hudson Institute’s 50th anniversary year, and to mark this occasion, the Institute has begun a 50th anniversary seminar series, and today’s exceptional Book Forum is the second event in this series.
    [Show full text]
  • Pfizerlectures03.Pdf
    On Corporate Governance The Corporation As It Ought to Be Michael Novak The AEI Press Publisher forthe American Enterprise Institute WASHINGTON, D.C. 1997 Available in the United States from the AEI Press, cf o Pub­ lisher Resources Inc., 1224 Heil Quaker Blvd., P.0. Box 7001, La Vergne, TN 37086-7001. Distributed outside the United States by arrangement with Eurospan, 3 Henrietta Street, London WC2E BLU England. ISBN 0-8447-7082-5 1357910 8 6 4 2 ©1997 by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission in writing from the American Enterprise Institute except in the case of brief quotations embodied in news articles, critical articles, or reviews. The views expressed in thepublications of the American Enterprise Institute are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect theviews of thestaff, advisory panels, officers,or trusteesof AEI. The AEI Press Publisher for the American Enterprise Institute 1150 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 Printed in the United States ofAmerica To the memory ofMichael A. Scully (1949-1996) who served his faith, his family, his country, and his business vocation well, and who was loved by his friendsas few men are. Contents PREFACE vii WHAT Is THE BUSINESS CORPORATION? 3 EXECUTNE ENERGY 5 THE ANT AND THE ELEPHANT 10 WHY Do FIRMS ExisT? 12 PIRATES! 13 MUTUAL FUNDS AND PENSION FUNDS 15 LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT STUFF 16 A WELL-LIGHTED PLACE 18 ON ENVY: "THOU SHALT NOT COVET" 19 Two TYPES OF INEQUALITY 22 JUSTIFYING UNEQUAL COMPENSATION 24 AGAINST APPEASEMENT 27 A CHEERFUL VIEW AT THE END OF A SORRY CENTURY 30 NOTES 33 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 45 v Preface n the summer of 1995, representatives of Pfizer Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • Newsletter Fall/Winter09:Layout 1
    HUDSON INSTITUTE News & Review WWW.HUDSON.ORG FALL/WINTER 2009 HUDSON WELCOMES NEW EXAMINING THE SCHOLARS AND STAFF RUSSIAN MILITARY JOHN SHENEFIELD, former In August, a Hudson Institute conference on the present and Asso ciate Attorney General of the future of the Russian military, held in conjunction with the U.S. United States and former Assist - Army War College, was broadcast live on C-SPAN. The numer- ant Attorney General in charge of ous at ten d ees included members of the media, re searchers, congressional aides, officials from the U.S. Department of State, and representatives of foreign embassies. For nearly five decades, Hudson has had a record of closely ex - amining the Soviet Union and now the Russian Fed eration. Senior Vice President for International Programs and Policy S. Enders Wimbush, himself an analyst of the former Soviet Union, key noted the conference, pointing out that it was being held in trib ute to the late Mary FitzGerald, a Hudson scholar who passed away in April. Fluent in Russian, FitzGerald analyzed Russian and Chinese the Antitrust Division of the U.S. military writings for the Department of Defense. Drawing on Sov- Department of Just ice, joined iet era sources, she defined the revolutionary CONTINUED ON PAGE 27 Hudson as an Ad junct Fel low in September. At Hudson, Shenefield will re- search and publish on anti trust law, regulatory policy, intel li gence, and national security law. “John Shenefield is a leading scho lar and distinguished practitioner of anti trust law,” says Hudson CEO Kenneth Wein
    [Show full text]
  • 2008 Annual Report
    Hudson Institute 2008 annual report Hudson Institute is a nonpartisan, independent policy research With offices in Washington and New York, Hudson seeks to organization dedicated to innovative research and analysis that guide public policy makers and global leaders in government promotes global security, prosperity, and freedom. and business through a vigorous program of publications, con- ferences, and policy briefings and recommendations. Founded in 1961 by strategist Herman Kahn, Hudson Institute challenges conventional thinking and helps manage strategic Hudson Institute is a 501(c)(3) organization financed by tax- transitions to the future through interdisciplinary studies in deductible contributions from private individuals, corporations, defense, international relations, economics, health care, tech- foundations, and by government grants. nology, culture, and law. CONTENTS 4 Message from the Chairman, CEO, and President 6 International Security, Foreign Policy, and Global Affairs 20 Economics, Trade, and Science 24 Society, Culture, and Philanthropy 27 Hudson New York 28 Hudson History and Herman Kahn 30 Outreach 33 Hudson Institute Press 35 Support for Hudson 36 Finances 37 In Memoriam 38 Hudson Scholars and Centers 40 Hudson Leadership “Hudson Institute is one of America’s foremost policy research centers, known and respected around the globe, a leader in innovative thinking and creative solutions for challenges of the present and future.” –HENRY KISSINGER 2008 annual report 3 Message from the Chairman, CEO, and President F inancial upheaval, a historic presidential elec- denced by the introduction of significant legislative re- tion, turmoil in the oil markets, and the threat of a form to combat sex trafficking; the willingness of former nuclear Iran dominated the news in 2008.
    [Show full text]
  • Harriet Moore
    Name: Harriet Moore Date of Submission: 9th September 2008 Name of Institution: The Institute for the Study of the Americas Degree Title: US Politics & Contemporary History Dissertation Title: How Far Can We Understand The Bush Doctrine Through The Prism Of The Truman Doctrine? Supervisor: Dr Timothy J. Lynch 1 “Like the Cold War, we are fighting the followers of a murderous ideology that despises freedom, crushes all dissent, has territorial ambitions, and pursues totalitarian aims. Like the Cold War, our enemies are dismissive of free peoples, claiming that men and women who live in liberty are weak and lack the resolve to defend our way of life. Like the Cold War, our enemies believe that the innocent can be murdered to serve a political vision. And like the Cold War, they’re seeking weapons of mass murder that would allow them to deliver catastrophic destruction to our country. If our enemies succeed in acquiring such weapons, they will not hesitate to use them, which means they would pose a threat to America as great as the Soviet Union.” - President George W. Bush speaking in May 2006 at the United States Military Academy at West Point (White House 2006) 2 Contents Chapter I: History Repeating Chapter II: Concept of the Enemy Chapter III: Strategy for Victory-The Truman Doctrine and The Bush Doctrine Chapter IV: Korea vs. Iraq Chapter V: Domestic Policy Conclusion Bibliography 3 Preface This dissertation is the focus of a comparison of the foreign policy of Harry S. Truman during the start of the Cold War with the foreign policy of George W.
    [Show full text]
  • July 18, 2018 the Honorable Paul D. Ryan Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Dear Speaker Ryan: Congres
    July 18, 2018 The Honorable Paul D. Ryan Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Dear Speaker Ryan: Congressman Scalise (R-LA1) has sponsored a resolution expressing the sense of Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to the economy of the United States. We are concerned that this resolution offers a limited perspective on carbon taxes and is blind to the potential benefits of market-based climate policy. Legislation that incorporates a carbon tax could include regulatory and tax reforms to make the United States economy more competitive, innovative, and robust, benefiting both present and future generations. We recognize that a carbon tax, like any tax, will impose economic costs. But climate change is also imposing economic costs. This resolution falls short by recognizing the cost of action without considering the cost of staying on our present policy course. There are, of course, uncertainties about the future cost of climate change and, likewise, the cost associated with a carbon tax (much would depend on program design and the pace and nature of technological progress).[1] The need for action, however, is clear. A recent survey of economists who publish in leading peer-reviewed journals on these matters found that 93% believe that a meaningful policy response to climate change is warranted.[2] The least burdensome, most straightforward, and most market-friendly means of addressing climate change is to price the risks imposed by greenhouse gas emissions via a tax. This would harness price signals, rather than regulations, to guide market response. That is why carbon pricing has the support of free market economists,[3] a majority of the global business community,[4] and a large number of the largest multinational private oil and gas companies in the world (the corporate entities among the most directly affected by climate policy).[5] In reaching a conclusion, this resolution neglects the fact that the United States already has a multiplicity of carbon taxes.
    [Show full text]
  • Toward a Better Competition Policy for the Media
    University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange College of Law Faculty Scholarship Law November 2009 Toward A Better Competition Policy For The Media Maurice E. Stucke University of Tennessee, [email protected] Allen P. Grunes Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_lawpubl Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Stucke, Maurice E. and Grunes, Allen P., "Toward A Better Competition Policy For The Media" (2009). College of Law Faculty Scholarship. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_lawpubl/40 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in College of Law Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TOWARD A BETTER COMPETITION POLICY FOR THE MEDIA: THE CHALLENGE OF DEVELOPING ANTITRUST POLICIES THAT SUPPORT THE MEDIA SECTOR’S UNIQUE ROLE IN OUR DEMOCRACY. Maurice E. Stucke∗ & Allen P. Grunes †‡ It is difficult to formulate meaningful competition policy when there is a fierce debate over the current competitiveness of the media industry. After addressing the importance of the marketplace of ideas in our democracy, our article examines the current state of the media industry, including the response of traditional media to audience declines, the growth of new media, the impact of media consolidation (including its impact on minority and women ownership), and the role of the Internet. In response to recent calls for liberalizing cross-ownership rules to protect traditional media, our article outlines why conventional antitrust policy is difficult to apply in media markets, and how the concerns underlying media mergers differ from other industries.
    [Show full text]