Paul Ormerod: Corporation tax: fostering the illusions of the electorate that someone else will pay
Updated: 2012-10-31 22:25:14
Corporation tax is very much in the news. Starbucks is merely the latest to be in the
spotlight, having paid no corporation tax on more than £1billion of sales in the past three years This became
noteworthy when the Prime Minister himself declared he was unhappy with the level of tax avoidance by big corporations working in Britain.
The plain fact is that if corporation
tax did not exist, it would be madness to introduce it. The tax plays to the ignorance not only of
the general public, but of almost all politicians. It encourages the fantasy that there is a
free lunch, that someone else will pick up the bill for the welfare state and
bloated state bureaucracy.
| Peter Klein | Thanks to Pete Boettke for forwarding this thoughtful CHE piece on the dissertation defense. Like the writer, I never had a defense; I was exchanging dissertation drafts with my adviser (via snail mail — this was a long time ago), and one day he simply said, “Send me the title page,” and I was [...]
Today I went to a fascinating and very thought-provoking lecture from Kate Raworth, a Senior Researcher for Oxfam GB. She introduced the audience to the idea of doughnut economics, and certainly convinced me about the usefulness of this very elegant and accessible development economics theory. I can't wait to share it with my classes when we're discussing sustainable development next year!
| Peter Klein | The Strategic Management Society conference has just wrapped up from the lovely city of Prague. Three-fourths of the O&M team,along with several former guest bloggers, enjoyed the festivities. There were many excellent papers, panels, workshops, and social events. Too many to summarize here, but I’ll mention a few highlights: A panel [...]