I fight to preserve tax competition, fiscal sovereignty, and financial privacy for the simple reason that politicians are less likely to impose destructive tax policy if they know that labor and capital can escape to jurisdictions with more responsible fiscal climates.

My opponents in this battle are high-tax governments, statist international bureaucracies such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and left-wing pressure groups, all of which want to impose some sort of global tax cartel – sort of an “OPEC for politicians.”

In my years of fighting this battle, I’ve has some strange experiences, most notably in 2008 when the OECD threatened to have me thrown in a Mexican jail for the supposed crime of standing in a public area of a hotel and advising representatives of low-tax jurisdictions on how best to resist fiscal imperialism.

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Daniel J. Mitchell

Daniel J. Mitchell

Daniel J. Mitchell is a top expert on tax reform and supply-side tax policy at the Cato Institute.

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25 Comments So Far
Dan107 Wrote: Feb 21, 2012 5:08 AM
Not on our watch, right Danny...!
restoreliberty Wrote: Feb 20, 2012 3:53 PM
Our Congressional representatives no longer fight to protect the American people; therefore we must all join the fight to have our rights restored and to have the federal government restricted by the powers enumerated in the constitution.

To join in a class action lawsuit again Obamacare please go to

http://libertylegalfoundation.org.

This organization if fighting for our rights as individuals.

Go to their website and read about the amicus brief they have submitted in the upcoming SCOTUS case that the states have brought and the other class action law suits they are bringing to restore our rights.
RayTheAnarchoCapitalist Wrote: Feb 20, 2012 9:09 PM
Oops, accidentally flagged.
Dan369 Wrote: Feb 20, 2012 2:48 PM
Great work, however, I wouldn't underestimate the stupidity of the DOJ.
Wendy60 Wrote: Feb 20, 2012 1:31 PM
Respect. Keep up the great work.

Too many links in this article, though.
Don't Tread On Me3 Wrote: Feb 20, 2012 1:00 PM
All this drama over supposed tax evasion, tax rates, all the class-envy demagoguery for hyper-taxing "other people" (because the elite ruling class tell the "gimme" sheep "they don't need so much" regardless of the fact they EARNED it, & the elite & gimmes didn't), is ultimately a SMOKE SCREEN to misdirect attention from the REAL issue of government size & spending.
Pamela166 Wrote: Feb 21, 2012 6:03 PM
A liberal troll spouting nonsense SPAM from its nether regions where its cranium has been firmly inserted for far too many years destroying any brain tissue, thus ending any pretense of intelligence it may have had in its very early years when it was still getting poopy diapers changed.
1ConservativeUSA Wrote: Feb 20, 2012 11:50 AM
I appreciate the author's efforts. One question continues to baffle me:

Why does the concept of free people making free decisions in free markets call for such a battle?

The simple answer is that some people are born with a deep compulsion to tell others how to live. This is Obama and his followers.
Don't Tread On Me3 Wrote: Feb 20, 2012 1:02 PM
Nothing threatens a kleptocrat so viscerally as being told, "That's not yours. You can't have it."
Nothing threatens a statist so fundamentally as being told, "That is none of your business. You don't even need to know about it, much less meddle in it."
Jack1529 Wrote: Feb 20, 2012 10:07 AM
Aside from the blatant anti-Democratic aspects, i.e. non-elected officials dictating national/international policies, it is extremely illuminating to note that for foreign nationals, the U.S. is the premier global tax haven. The U.S. affords foreign investors all manner of incentives and loopholes which are not available to her citizens.

Even more galling, however, is the high-minded imperialism on display when wealthy governments like the U.S., France, Germany, etc., attempt to shake-down less financially powerful nations; in essence, it is the schoolyard bully trying to take another student's lunch.

Perhaps it is time to stand-up to the bully and punch him in the nose!
Pamela166 Wrote: Feb 21, 2012 6:04 PM
A liberal troll spouting nonsense SPAM from its nether regions where its cranium has been firmly inserted for far too many years destroying any brain tissue, thus ending any pretense of intelligence it may have had in its very early years when it was still getting poopy diapers changed.
Jim829 Wrote: Feb 20, 2012 9:48 AM
With wannabe dictator Obozo issuing a executive order (I believe that it was stated as an executive order) that Interpol has the right to operate of American soil to investigate someone in America for "crimes of expression and other so called crimes" for something they said or did supposedly against another country. As of yet they cannot arrest anyone and whisk them out the the country without an extradition consent of the U.S. government. It has happened in other countries already. Especially if one criticizes Islam. I must also state that the Obozo just added to what Mr. Bush 2 did while in office, Bush 2 started the process during his term in office.
tibby2 Wrote: Feb 20, 2012 9:15 AM
Interesting that Obama opposition to American imperialism does not extend to money deposited in foreign banks.

The progressive that is hooked on taxes always needs the next fix of cash infusion to be injected into the progressive agenda. Otherwise they will go into withdrawal.
Reality, Again Wrote: Feb 20, 2012 9:31 AM
I don't understand what money deposited in foreign banks has to do with American imperialism. Are you saying that forcing foreign banks to comply with our laws is imperialistic?

Progressives know no limits on government power.
Blair31 Wrote: Feb 20, 2012 9:38 AM
According to Obama, yes, it is. DA, TOVARICH? DA!
c5c5c5 Wrote: Feb 20, 2012 9:04 AM
Loved the article Mr. Mitchell! Keep it up.
Chris in Kalifornia Wrote: Feb 20, 2012 7:50 AM
Your point here:

"To understand the principles at stake, let’s turn the tables. What if the Iranian government demanded that the American government extradite Iranian exiles who write articles critical of that country’s nutjob leadership? Would the Justice Department agree that the Iranian government had the right to persecute and prosecute people who didn’t break U.S. law. Of course not (at least I hope not!)."

is wrong. It would be more like the Iranians wanting to extradite you for mentioning them in a non-complimentary manner as you have, while breaking no laws here in the states. Completely wrong. But no worse than the German courts for prosecuting a citizen for a crime that didn't happen in China. Don't laugh, it happened.
Chris in Kalifornia Wrote: Feb 20, 2012 7:55 AM
Formula one driver Adrian Sutil, was accused of attacking a team mate in a bar in Shanghai. The local police and officials decided that no crime had been committed. German Courts prosecuted him and fined him 200,000 euros, for a crime that had not happened.

Courts and politics are strange and harmful things sometimes. Treacherous and untrustworthy.
JanelleH Wrote: Feb 20, 2012 1:17 AM
It might be helpful if everyone had some skin in this game. Fair, flat or vat tax.....but only one of them. I don't see the usefulness of over 60,000 pages of tax codes. While I favor downsizing the IRS....I would be in favor of retaining their best to account for the spending of taxpayer dollars. High time the "government" had a taste of what they write into law for us.
Blair31 Wrote: Feb 20, 2012 8:03 AM
Agreed. If we cut our corporate taxes, passed a constitutional amendment that whacked the IRS, and
implemented a flat tax, the French and Germans, would, (maybe), see the error of their ways. Oui, mon ami? OUI!