Friday, June 15, 2007

Washington’s War on Prosperity

Wall Street and Washington are all atwitter about the so-called “Blackstone tax” that would force the New York investment firm’s IPO to pay the 35 percent corporate tax on all income, rather than allowing it to pay a 15 percent capital gains tax on its investment income.

While numerous tax accounting issues exist here, the key, bottom line point is that this is the new front in Washington’s war on prosperity. It is being waged by Democrats in Congress and Democrats on the presidential campaign trail.

This is all about class envy. It’s a fight against wealth creation and a war against prosperity.

While class warriors in Congress try to figure out new ways to punish wealth creation, the global movement to reduce corporate taxes, not raise them is moving full steam ahead. You see it all across Europe, you're seeing it in Asia, you're even seeing it in China and India.

Washington is asleep at the switch.

Art Laffer has a better idea: Stop the multiple taxation on capital by abolishing the corporate tax altogether. Convert to a fifteen or twenty percent flat tax rate system for all income. In other words, reform by lowering taxes and simplfying the code.

But make no mistake, this a class-envy fueled war against prosperity.