Tax Reform: The Good, the Bad, and the Really Ugly – Part Four

‘The values to which people cling most stubbornly under inappropriate conditions are those values that were previously the source of their greatest triumphs over adversity.’
– Jared Diamond, Collapse, 2005
Tax reform means, ‘Don’t tax you, don’t tax me. Tax that fellow behind the tree.’
– Russell B. Long, Democratic Senator from Louisiana, longtime chairman of the Senate Finance Committee (and a strong believer in capitalism who was a champion of tax breaks for businesses)
This letter turns out to be the penultimate installment in my now five-part series on tax reform. Part one was an introduction and a discussion of some of the problems of the proposed border adjustment tax. Part two went further into the proposed reforms and reasons for them, focusing mainly on what I liked in the proposal. Part three was a determined evisceration of the border adjustment tax proposal (which I think potentially has all sorts of negative consequences, up to and including starting a global recession). You can read parts one, two, and three by clicking on the links. I also sent as an Outside the Box this past Wednesday, written by Constance Hunter of KPMG, who analyzed the proposed reforms, discussing the difficulties of the proposed border tax as well as other issues.
I hold that it is not fair to criticize a proposal unless you have something else to offer. Next week I will wrap up the letter by telling you what I think we should do – and then offer you the opportunity to create your own tax proposal.

This post was published at Mauldin Economics on MARCH 1, 2017.