Tennessee is one of 19 states with a separate estate tax and one of only two states with a gift tax, which has caused the state to underperform in comparison to other right-to-work states and other states with no earned income tax, low corporate tax, and low overall tax burdens according to authors Arthur B.…

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012 President Obama again pointed to Warren Buffett’s call for higher taxes on the rich in making the case for tax increases during his State of the Union address.  Indeed, ever since Mr. Buffett’s August op-ed ran in the New York Times claiming that he does not pay enough in taxes and urging higher…

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Dr. Laffer takes aim at class warfare rhetoric and proposals to raise taxes on the rich, explaining why such tax increases never raise the revenue or achieve the social justice that their advocates promise.  In particular, Dr. Laffer focuses on Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett’s famous calls for Washington…

With the nation’s ongoing economic crisis and the 2012 election cycle in full swing, many of the candidates vying for the Republican nomination have been vocal critics of the Federal Reserve and its loose monetary policy.  Today’s persistently high unemployment, anemic growth, and concerns over a declining dollar have brought renewed attention to the role…

Monday, November 28th, 2011 Over the past several years of this Great Recession, the audacity of the Federal Reserve has been something to behold.  In the face of recession and a financial sector in shock, the Fed has taken interest rates essentially to zero, added so much to bank assets that excess reserves have equaled…

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Dr. Laffer analyzes Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 proposal to reform the federal tax system.  Dr. Laffer points to his research for the Laffer Center and the high cost of complying with the current tax codes, declaring that reducing tax code complexity and the costs associated with compliance is a “win-win,”…

Tax compliance employs more workers than Wal-Mart, UPS, McDonald’s, IBM and Citigroup combined. There is a lot more to taxes than simply paying the bill. Taxpayers must spend significantly more than $1 in order to provide $1 of income-tax revenue to the federal government. To start with, individuals and businesses must pay the government the…