Program: Fiscal

Looking for a Way out the Subsidies Labyrinth in Argentina

| 16 October 2015
Fiscal, Monetary, Blog | Tags: Energy, Inflation, Subsidies
In the midst of a heated electoral campaign, subsidies are at the centre of the political debate in Argentina. Shock or gradual approaches to reform those transfers have emerged as the buzzwords of the moment as the presidential race heats up. ... continue reading

Tax Expenditures and Sustainability

| 8 October 2015
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Renewables, Tax Expenditures
What do 1.8 billion Euro given to Italian farmers, 69.7 billion US$ provided to US homeowners, and 75 billion A$ allocated to support the retirement income system in Australia have in common? They are channeled through tax expenditures. ... continue reading

Fundamental Tax Reform: The Purple Tax Plan

1 June 2015
Fiscal, Roundtables | Tags: Consumption Tax, Corporate Tax, Inheritance Tax
Roundtable on fundamental tax reform with Laurence Kotlikoff and a focus on his "Purple Tax Plan". Professor Kotlikoff is Professor of Economics at Boston University, as well as a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Director of the Tax Analysis ... continue reading

Tax Policy 2020 – Fundamentals, Effects and Scenarios

7 November 2014
Conferences, Fiscal | Tags: BEPS, Carbon Tax, Corporate Tax, Income Tax, Inheritance Tax, Wealth Tax
Conference on international and Swiss tax policymaking, its long-term effects and scenarios for tax reforms moving forward. ... continue reading

Africa Could Become the World’s Next Powerhouse

| 26 September 2013
Fiscal, Trade, Blog | Tags: Africa, Commodities, Taxes
“A winning Africa!” “Thousands of Portuguese workers emigrate to the former colony of Angola in search of work.” Headlines such as these are a perfect illustration of the Afro-optimism that has gripped the media these last few years. In an Africa courted by foreign investors, ... continue reading

Property Taxes and Sustainability

and | 26 August 2013
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Housing, Inequality
Many economists advocate that a higher share of government revenue should derive from taxes on immovable property. Proponents of a sustainability agenda may want to follow their advice. Read an OECD economic survey for a particular country and chances are high it recommends increasing the ... continue reading

Green Economy – Beware of Merchants of Doubt

| 17 April 2013
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Green Growth, Subsidies
Those who oppose change involving powerful economic sectors have long ago found an effective tactic: instilling doubt in the guise of reasonable arguments. A recent manifestation of this tactic is the claim that so-called ‘green jobs’ are too expensive and in fact destroy “real” jobs. ... continue reading

The Case for an International Tax Organisation

and | 19 March 2013
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Tax Competition, Taxes
Capital mobility entails fiscal interdependence. Since the abolition of capital controls in the 1960s and 1970s, and following the widespread abolition of withholding taxes in the wake of the first move in this direction by the Reagan administration in 1984, fiscal interdependence has turned from ... continue reading

Sense & nonsense in end of year reviews

| 21 January 2013
Fiscal, Trade, Blog | Tags: Forecasting
The turn of every calendar year witnesses a spate of reviews by pundits in the media. For a columnist, these reviews are an attractive vehicle, ideally drawing upon events from the previous 12 months and combining them with insights into developments relating to the next ... continue reading

Why a financial transaction tax is good for your pension

| 23 October 2012
Fiscal, Blog | Tags: Financial Markets, Financial Transaction Tax
Before the end of 2012, it is likely that 9 EU Member countries will invoke the “Enhanced Co-operation Procedure” and move ahead with a Financial Transactions Tax (FTT), that, if it had broad coverage of financial instruments and players would raise over USD$30bn, providing a ... continue reading