When an
esteemed economist like Arthur B. Laffer writes about tax policy and
prosperity, conservatives rightfully tend to listen.
Apparently
this was the intent behind a recent report from Dr. Laffer and his
colleague Donna Arduin entitled “Pro-Growth Tax Reform and E-Fairness.”
According to the analysis – which backers of the horrendous Marketplace
Fairness Act (MFA) are hyping as a tract of biblical proportions
– allowing states and localities to collect taxes on “remote” sales (through
both the Internet and catalogs) from businesses beyond their borders could,
over a ten-year period, lead to big dividends. These would include an additional
$563.2 billion in Gross State Product (GSP) and more than 1.5 million new jobs,
provided states and localities invest every penny of those higher tax
collections (as much as $47 billion by 2022) into fixing other
growth-inhibiting tax policies.
At least
this is what MFA supporters would like us to take away from the study. But out
of respect for Dr. Laffer, this writer – who is definitely NOT an economist –
decided to read the full document and its appendix. Interestingly, the report
itself provides some of the most important warnings against jumping to the
conclusions that MFA’s cheerleaders would have us draw from it….To Read More…..
No comments:
Post a Comment