Tax Chats

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How Much Income do Firms Shift to Tax Havens? A Conversation w/Jennifer Blouin. Jun 09, 2022

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Scott and Jeff discuss income shifting by multinational corporations with Jennifer Blouin. We talk about Jennifer's research that suggests some estimates of the amount of tax revenue the U.S. loses to income shifting are as much as ten times too large. These estimates are important because they drive policy discussions, including debates in the U.S. about tax reform, and abroad, through the OECD and other organizations. The conversation builds on some of Jennifer's recent work related to income shifting, including a paper entitled "Double Counting Accounting: How Much Profit of Multinational Enterprises Is Really in Tax Havens?" available here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3491451.

Professor Arthur Laffer on His Curve Jun 01, 2022

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Scott and Jeff discuss the effects the tax rate has on how much taxes are raised with Professor Arthur Laffer, for whom the Laffer Curve is named. The Laffer Curve shows the likely relationship between tax rates and tax revenue. We hear the famous story of drawing the curve on a napkin. We ask Professor Laffer about the Laffer Curve, and we get his opinion on the revenue maximizing tax rate.

Taxing Robots w/Rita de la Feria May 25, 2022

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Scott and Jeff are joined by Rita de la Feria @delaFeriaR to discuss her new paper (co-authored with Maria Amparo Grau Ruiz) called "Taxing Robots". The abstract of her paper reads in part:
"In recent years, the idea of taxing robots has been progressively gaining momentum. The potential impact of automation on employment, and consequently on income tax revenues, has led many to defend the introduction of a tax on robots, or on the use of robots, to either compensate for the potential revenue loss, or to slow down the process of automation. This paper argues that whilst automation presents significant challenges to tax systems, the introduction of a new tax on robots –or on their use– is not an effective mechanism through which to address these challenges."
We discuss the idea of taxing robots, whether the tax is different from a tax on other types of capital investment, the behavioral motivations for a desire to tax robots, and other issues.

Was Trump's Tax Reform Effective? May 18, 2022

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Scott and Jeff discuss whether the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was effective. Often referred to as the Trump tax cuts, or the Trump Tax Reform, recent commentators have argued that it was highly effective. For example, Tyler Goodspeed and Kevin Hassett argued in the Wall Street Journal the TCJA "delivered as promised" by increasing investment, wages, and government revenues. Academic research, however, paints a more nuanced picture. Jeff keeps a list of academic studies that evaluate different aspects of the TCJA on the UNC Tax Center website called The TCJA Effects Tracker. We discuss why articles in the popular press that claim victory or defeat are almost always oversimplified.

The "Secret IRS Files": A Conversation with ProPublica's Paul Kiel May 11, 2022

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Scott, Jeff, and Paul Kiel discuss the series of articles published by ProPublica based on a massive leak of private tax return data on the wealthiest individuals in the United States. The series of articles can be found here: https://www.propublica.org/series/the-secret-irs-files.
We ask about privacy, transparency, tone, influence, leaked data, and more.

Tax Short - Why do quarters have ridges, and what does it have to do with taxes (and inflation!)? May 06, 2022

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Jeff explains why quarters have ridges, and what it has to do with taxes and inflation.

Should death eliminate taxes? A conversation about carryover basis with Kathleen Thomas May 04, 2022

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Scott and Jeff discuss the idea of carryover basis with Kathleen Thomas. Currently, when someone dies with appreciated capital gains, they get a step-up in basis, meaning their estate pays no taxes on their accumulated gains. The downside is they have to die. An alternative would be to carryover the basis the the person who died had, which would make many tax planning strategies more difficult.

A Bigger Burden for Billionaires? David Gamage on Biden's Mega Millionaire Minimum Tax Apr 27, 2022

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Scott and Jeff discuss Biden's proposed Mega Millionaire Minimum Tax with David Gamage, one of the thought-leaders behind the proposal and its variations. We discuss the basics of what the minimum tax might look like. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of this type of tax. The tax is intended to force very wealthy individuals like Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg to pay more tax, even if they do not have much income as currently the tax code currently defines income. We also discuss the idea of "notional equity" as a way for the government to strengthen its taxing authority.

Progressive Taxation: What is it? Why would we want it? Do we have it? Apr 20, 2022

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Scott and Jeff discuss progressive taxation. While most agree progressive taxation is desirable, there is less agreement about how much progressivity is desirable, what it even is, and if our current tax system is progressive. Scott and Jeff tackle these issues by asking each other questions about taxes on income, property taxes, taxes on cigarettes, and other scenarios. They conclude that progressivity is a slippery subject, and, claims about progressivity should be carefully considered.

Should we even tax corporations? It's not as obvious as you might think. Apr 13, 2022

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Scott and Jeff discuss the reasons a corporate tax makes sense. The answers might surprise you. Among the least compelling arguments: corporations have a lot of income, corporations use infrastructure, corporations have special legal status. Among the most compelling arguments: corporations make efficient collection agents, corporations have cash, and taxing corporations allows the government to see what they are up to.

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