“Raise the inheritance tax threshold to £1 million” Duncan Simpson, courtesy of Taxpayers’ Alliance If the inheritance tax threshold was increased from £325,000 to £1 million, almost 25,000 fewer families would have to pay the hated death tax across this year and next. The government would still be raking in £7 billion […]
Author: Erik Sass
Healthy tax competition is possible and needed
“Principled Tax Competition” By Daniel Bunn and Else Aken, courtesy of IREF The structure of a country’s tax code is an important determinant of its economic performance. The Tax Foundation’s International Tax Competitiveness Index has ranked OECD countries’ tax systems for the last six years, and every year Estonia has been the number one country […]
The digital revolution is losing steam
“Dissecting the global growth and productivity slowdown” By Robert Stehrer, courtesy of WIIW Growth rates in the global economy since the financial crisis have been subdued compared to the boom phase at the beginning of this century (see Figure 1). Compared to the period 2000-06 average real GDP growth slowed from more […]
How I learned to stop worrying and love AI
“Artificial intelligence will be good for workers” By Gaël Campan and Luc Vallée, courtesy of MEI Are machines going to steal our jobs? That is the question that keeps popping up in light of the rapid progress of artificial intelligence (AI). Research shows, however, that such fears about the adverse impact of AI […]
Future EU, global trade deals will be harder than Brexiters think
“Britain has not yet faced its hard choices” By Daniel Wincott, courtesy of UK in a Changing Europe ‘Global Britain’ is the ultimate goal for many Brexiters. They see new, tailored trade deals around the world as Brexit’s great prize. Fast-growing economies, including India, China and Brazil, feature prominently. Critics counter that increasing […]
Election is all about — wait for it — Brexit
“This is the Brexit General Election” By David Shiels, courtesy of Open Europe A General Election in the UK has been confirmed for 12 December. The Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019 received Royal Assent yesterday, and the campaign will formally begin after the dissolution of Parliament next week. Although there is […]
Zero carbon rule would just make UK housing (even more) unaffordable
IEA: UK housing market needs “less red tape, not more” By Dr. Kristian Niemietz, courtesy of IEA Responding to the Labour Party’s pledge to make all new homes zero carbon within three years, Head of Political Economy at the Institute of Economic Affairs Dr Kristian Niemietz stated: What the UK housing market […]
Minimum wage hike led to less working time, higher prices in Germany
“Four years statutory minimum wage – an overview of the most important research findings” Courtesy of IAB It was the most radical reform of the German labor market since Agenda 2010: the introduction of the statutory minimum wage in 2015. At that time, science and practice contradicted each other in partly diametrically opposed […]
Can the transatlantic relationship survive the age of Realpolitik?
By Martin Michelot, courtesy of Europeum Reports that US Ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, was heard saying that his job “was to destroy the EU” call into question the reality of this desire for a “reset”, but it is clear that Europeans will need to come to the table. Their current level […]
New bill would legalize agricultural labor (but E-Verify is still a disaster)
“Bipartisan Bill Increases Legal Migration & Legalizes Farmworkers” By David Bier, courtesy of the Cato Institute A bipartisan group of about 50 House members, equally divided between both parties, introduced legislation today that expands both permanent and temporary migration for agriculture, while legalizing illegal farmworkers. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act will be […]