Would you be astounded to read that (1) the most tax competitive country in the world is tiny Estonia and (2) close to the worst tax burden on businesses in the industrialized world is the United States? Estonia, despite reasonable tax rates, ranks #1, while the U.S., with the world’s highest corporate tax rate, ranks #32.
A new global index—the International Tax Competitiveness Index—measures “the extent to which a country’s tax system adheres to two important principles of tax policy: competitiveness and neutrality.” This new ranking comes out just as Mr. Obama and Senator Chuck Schumer are jointly campaigning to raise taxes on businesses and punish corporations that move their legal domicile overseas to avoid paying the already punitive U.S. tax rate.
In pointing out the glory of enlightened big government, liberals often praise the large social safety nets of Finland, Germany, Norway and Sweden, but each of these countries ranked in the top 20. Even England, with its socialized medicine, came in 11 points higher than the U.S.
Read here in the WSJ’s “Review & Outlook” how Washington and this administration are missing what could be the single biggest tax boost to economic growth and worker incomes.
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