We retired Tax Justice Blog in April 2017. For new content on issues related to tax justice, go to www.justtaxesblog.org
April 13, 2012 4:42 PM
- A letter in the Tulsa World highlights the work done by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) to expose the flaws in Arthur Laffer’s recent “research” on the economic benefits of income tax repeal. The letter also reports on similar critiques of Laffer’s work that were made by a number of prominent economists speaking at an event hosted by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. Our favorite? Ken Olson at Oklahoma State University explains that Laffer’s work “does not constitute economic analysis in any real sense. As a consequence, its suggestions should be ignored as economics.”
- Opponents of progressive taxation often point to Texas as evidence that shunning the personal income tax can lead to economic growth. But the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) explains that Texas’ success is due to factors largely outside the control of state lawmakers, like natural resources, immigration, trade, and the availability of plenty of land for development. It’s a point that should be obvious, but it’s also one that we’ve found ourselves having to remind people of quite frequently as of late