Stiglitz proposes tax code changes that will stimulate our economy and sole a lot of other problems.

[JDPriestly]

It's great.

Bill Moyers summarizes it here:

1. Raise Corporate Income Tax Rates While Providing Incentives for Investments and Job Creation in the US

The implicit assumptions of the advocates of lower corporate tax rates are that low rates induce more investment and that high corporate tax rates disincentivize investment. Both theory and evidence indicate that low corporate tax rates fail to induce investment, but that one can design a corporate income tax that will promote investment and employment creation in the US. Such a tax system will require higher tax rates on corporations that do not invest, accompanied by lower taxes on those that do. It is the difference in taxation between those who do and those who do not invest and create jobs that provides the incentives for investment and job creation.

2. Reduce Spending on Corporate Welfare

Welfare payments provide assistance to poor individuals in need. But in the US, we give large amounts of money to rich corporations that can hardly be viewed as needy. Such payments — mainly hidden in our corporate tax system — have come to be called corporate welfare.

. . . .

4. Tax on Monopolies and Other Rent-Based Enterprises

One of the advantages of taxing monopolies and other rent-based enterprise “profits” at a higher (“surtax”) level is the absence of adverse supply responses. Indeed, if the response to taxing rent seeking activities is to decrease the quantity of such activities, the efficiency of the economy may actually be enhanced. While in some cases it may be difficult to ascertain the extent to which there are monopoly profits, in some sectors (such as telecom and cable TV) the magnitudes and associated distortions are large.

5. Ensure that Multinationals Pay Their Fair Share of Taxes and Have Incentives to Invest in America

. . . .
Tax firms on their global income in a fair and comprehensive way:In spite of the recent assertions of the Supreme Court, corporations are not people. One of the ways that they differ from people is that where they reside can be nothing but a legal fiction. We can tell where an individual resides – an individual is a resident of the State of New York if she sleeps 50 percent of nights in New York. But a corporation can set up an office in the Cayman Islands, claim that as its home, even if little or none of its business is conducted there, and even if it has few if any employees there. Our leading technology companies have shown that they can be as innovative in tax avoidance as they have been in producing new products. The current system cannot work in a world of globalization.


More worth reading, really worth reading at

http://billmoyers.com/2014/05/30/seven-key-takeaways-from-joseph-stiglitz%E2%80%99s-tax-plan-for-growth-and-equality/

[Trillo]

1. If I'm reading the dividend tax deduction correctly,

it would help middle-income folks who own stocks long term while taxing very wealthy folks who practice tax avoidance with fancy strategies.

[JDPriestly]

3. That's the way I understand Moyers' summary of Stiglitz's proposal.

[msongs]

2. and add a transaction fee to all trades, swaps, and similar speculations. a slight fee insignificant

per item might go along way to help repair the damage caused by speculators and back door traders and swindlers

[cstanleytech]

4. I wouldnt mind something added that links any tax breaks for companies to

all their employees gross income.
Ya know make it so that if they are paying a living wage (in this case that means one that the employees arent having to receive government assistance and can afford to invest 30% towards retirement without hurting themselves ) that the company gets a lower corporate tax.

[JDPriestly]

5. Good idea.

If employees qualify for food stamps and other assistance, the employer should be taxed to compensate for the money the government spends on that assistance. Of course, if the company does not have the income to be taxed then it would not be taxed at the higher rate. Some companies do not make any profits in their early years or during difficult times. The incentives should be tax breaks, not penalties that might ruin a company. Walmart should pay enough in taxes to cover any assistance its employees receive or are eligible for.

[rogerashton]

6. Problem

It is true (in the orthodox economics to which Joe subscribes) that a tax on the rent of land or natural resources) has no "adverse supply responses," i.e. resulting cutbacks in production. Monopoly, however, would reduce production. Joe uses the term "rent" in a technical and tricky way.

[postulater]

7. I wonder what Ms. Clinton thinks of this.

[pampango]

8. 3. Tax the Financial Sector; 6. Increase Taxes on Industries That Produce Negative Externalities;

7. Make Dividend Payments Tax Deductible, But Impose a Withholding Tax

Taxes pay for roads, schools, firefighters, Coast Guard rescues and a thousand other goods and services we need for our society to function.

But taxes also shape our incentives. We tax things that we deem to be harmful — like tobacco and alcohol — and hand out tax breaks to encourage things we find beneficial, like research.

According to a new white paper by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz, our labyrinthine tax system is skewing those incentives. We’re encouraging corporations to invest in creating jobs overseas, when unemployment remains doggedly high here at home. We’re giving US-based multinationals good reason t0 deprive our treasury of revenues when we should be investing in infrastructure and the American people.

The report, prepared for the Roosevelt Institute, offers seven concrete proposals for reforming our corporate tax system so it aligns with the greater good. We have excerpted these below. The full recommendations are available in Stiglitz’s report, Reforming Taxation to Promote Growth and Equity(PDF).

Great article and great suggestions for a more liberal policy. Reforming our regressive, corporate-oriented tax policy is one critical step we need to take.

Thanks for posting it, JDPriestly.