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July 10, 2007
Tax and competitiveness conference
According to a Treasury Department press release:
Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. will hold a one-day conference on Thursday, July 26 in Washington, D.C. to examine ways in which our current business tax system affects economic growth and U.S. competitiveness in the global economy.
No other details are available at this time. But it looks like this is a follow on to an early June conference on New OECD International Tax Initiatives: Looking Ahead. However, that conference was more about the harmonization of specific tax details, such as transfer pricing, than about the impact of tax structures on competitiveness.
If the Secretary's conference is really going to look at tax policy as a factor in competitiveness, it will need to put ideas from both the left and the right on the table. From the left, it will need to address the concern over tax policies that are said to encourage the transfer of production and jobs overseas. From the right, it will need to look at concerns over double taxation of corporations and the capital gains tax rate. And while it is at it, it should look at the whole issue of moving to a Value Added Tax (VAT).
It should also bring to the table the recommendations of the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform (commonly known as the Mack-Breaux Tax Reform Commission). While the Commission's recommendations have fallen on deaf ears and have been dismissed as impractical in some quarters, it should serve as at least part of the bases for continued discussion.
So, it is unclear in my mind what a one-day conference hosted by Secretary Paulson will accomplish. But if it does a good job of fairly raising all of the issues, it will be successful. If it becomes just another forum for spotlighting any number of specific hobbyhorses, then it will be just another meeting. Let's hope it can address the real tax issues facing the I-Cubed Economy
Posted by Ken Jarboe at July 10, 2007 10:01 AM
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