In The WSJ, Art Laffer explains that tax compliance adds an additional 30% to the cost of federal taxes and advocates a flat tax to reduce complexity.
At NRO, Kevin Williamson reports that repealing the Bush tax cuts for higher earners would raise $80 billion per year, in the context of a $1.6 trillion annual deficit.
The Journaleditorializes that raising taxes on the rich will have a modest impact on the budget.
Consider the Internal Revenue Service's income tax statistics for 2008, the latest year for which data are available. The top 1% of taxpayers—those with salaries, dividends and capital gains roughly above about $380,000—paid 38% of taxes. But assume that tax policy confiscated all the taxable income of all the "millionaires and billionaires" Mr. Obama singled out. That yields merely about $938 billion, which is sand on the beach amid the $4 trillion White House budget, a $1.65 trillion deficit, and spending at 25% as a share of the economy, a post-World War II record.
On TNR, Jonathan Chait counters Laffer with the claim that lower tax rates are not necessary to lower compliance costs.
From The WSJ, James Taranto skewers Walter Mondale’s call for higher tax rates.
Cato’s Alan Reynolds discusses tax rates on the Tara Servatius radio show.
At Econlog, David Henderson critiques one aspect of David Cay Johnston’s recent attack on supply-side economics.
But if he wanted to inform the reader without misleading, he would have presented the data on the percent of all federal taxes paid by the top 1 percent. In their book, Public Finance, 9th edition, Harvey S. Rosen and Ted Gayer, give a table showing that in 2005 [and things haven't changed much since then] the top one percent paid 27.6 percent of all federal taxes.
At COAL, Paul Krugman suggests the US can comfortably handle tax rates that absorb 23 percent of GDP, up from the historical 18.3 percent average.
On RCM, Joe Calhoun wonders if commodities have reached their top.
At Asia Times, David Goldman suggests the economy may lapse back to deflation. More on the theme, here.
In Globe Asia, Cato’s Steve Hanke explains the problems caused by the weak dollar.
From New World Economics, Nathan Lewis argues gold’s value is fundamentally stable (part two, here.)
Heritage’s David Weinberger addresses income inequality.
On The Kudlow Report, John Rutledge discusses China growth and inflation:
In The Washington Post, routed presidential contender Walter Mondale congratulates the President for advocating tax increases.
From Reuters, James Pethokoukis reports the President’s deficit proposal may be heavily slanted towards higher tax rates.
At Capital Games and Games, Pete Davis notes the high taxes U.S. multinationals pay compared to their competition.
In The WSJ, former Sen. Phil Gramm (TX) explains the historically slow rate of growth under President Obama.
On Forbes, Peter Ferrara analyzes the President’s budget proposal.
On Kudlow, James Pethokoukis debates the President's tax increase proposal:
At Forbes, Reuven Brenner advocates renewed focus on leveraging America’s talent.
With this weekend's release of the Atlas Shrugged film, here’s an apropos quote from the book:
"Whenever destroyers appear among men, they start by destroying money, for money is men's protection and the base of a moral existence. Destroyers seize gold and leave its owners a counterfeit pile of paper. This kills all objective standards and delivers men into the arbitrary power of an arbitrary setter of values... Paper is a mortgage on wealth that does not exist, backed by a gun aimed at those who are expected to produce it. Paper is a check drawn by legal looters upon an account which is not theirs: upon the virtue of the victims. Watch for the day when it bounces, marked: 'Account Overdrawn.'"
Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer notes that tax reform will allow the top tax rate to fall to 28 percent or less.
In The WSJ, David Beito recounts the tax revolt of the 1930s.
At Forbes, John Tamny argues college education is overrated.
On NRO, George Cassidy explains the role of high tax rates on the Beatles’ break up.
