Tax

White House pins tax cuts on fanciful economics

28 Sep 2017

Presidential adviser Gary Cohn says its costly plan will pay for itself because of the expansion it'll spark. Skepticism is warranted. GDP growth topped 4 pct for a bit following Reagan and Clinton reforms, but the correlation isn’t as strong as the GOP would like to believe.

State tax deduction pain would spread to Trumpland

27 Sep 2017

GOP leaders want to scrap the break that mainly helps upper-income earners in Clinton-backing locales like New York. It raises $1.3 trln over a decade to help offset tax cuts. Yet all states take advantage of the deduction, which includes sales tax. It sets up a bruising fight.

India walks tightrope with “black money” fight

27 Sep 2017

Premier Narendra Modi has unleashed a raft of initiatives to root out income obtained illegally or hidden from the taxman. The cost has been a sharp slowdown in growth. The potential prize is a big uptick in India’s ability to spend – and an easier path for Modi to re-election.

Healthcare’s nonprofit status belongs in the grave

13 Sep 2017

Publicly traded Centene is buying tax-exempt insurer Fidelis for $3.75 bln. The seller’s priest-CEO earns an ungodly sum. Exorbitant pay is rife in nonprofit healthcare, yet is rarely tied to community benefit. Euthanizing these firms’ tax break would be a social good.

Dixon: No escape from debtors’ prison for Greece

11 Sep 2017

Alexis Tsipras is desperate to avoid surveillance of his actions by the country’s creditors when its third bailout ends next August. The best the Greek prime minister can hope for is to move from a high-security unit to an open prison – and only if he behaves.

Guest view: Tax relief made for U.S. manufacturers

5 Sep 2017

President Trump's broad reforms probably will take many months to craft, but Congress already has a narrower bipartisan plan to help. Offering credits for putting R&D side by side with domestic factories can help productivity, argues Dhaval Jadav, the CEO of a tax consultancy.

India’s big-cash call generates surprise dividends

30 Aug 2017

Nearly all $242 bln of high-value notes scrapped nine months ago were turned in to banks. It also led to an unexpected jump in reported suspicious transactions. That gives the taxman a useful paper trail that may lead to benefits from this unorthodox monetary experiment.

U.S. tax reform plan can contain hidden loopholes

30 Aug 2017

The GOP no longer wants to tax worldwide corporate profits, which pushes companies to move overseas. It’s a good idea but may create other ways to dodge Uncle Sam. Accounting for assets like patents would help ensure firms, especially in tech, don’t game their government bills.

India’s tax attack on Li Ka-shing is a bad call

30 Aug 2017

New Delhi wants to wring the same taxes out of buyer and seller in an old telco deal. Slapping a $5 bln demand on Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison, while also chasing Vodafone, is farcical. If India really wants to end “tax terrorism” it should change its law and rein in bureaucrats.

Merkel matters less than her next coalition allies

18 Aug 2017

The German chancellor is poised to win a fourth term in September’s vote. However, Angela Merkel may well be forced to govern with a small majority in partnership with the Free Democrats. That party’s trenchant calls for even more austerity are bad news for Germany and Europe.

Exchange Podcast: Art Laffer

8 Aug 2017

U.S. Republicans are pursuing the holy grail of Washington policy: tax reform. The last comprehensive overhaul was in 1986 under Ronald Reagan. The Exchange met with Reagan adviser Art Laffer, known as the father of supply-side economics, to discuss the prospects for reform today.

Corporate America faces little guy in tax reform

1 Aug 2017

The White House is pitching an overhaul of the tax code. Republican leaders highlight company rate cuts while rank-and-file lawmakers are prioritizing middle-class relief. Congress is also toiling over how to pay for the revamp. Corporations may have to temper their wish lists.

Viewsroom: Why U.S. tax reform is doomed, too

20 Jul 2017

Republicans’ failure to replace Obamacare throws into doubt Washington’s ability to keep other high-profile election promises, not least cutting corporate levies. Meanwhile, President Trump’s fuzzy agenda for reforming NAFTA could give Canada and Mexico more bargaining power.

Why Europe can’t beat Google on corporate taxes

13 Jul 2017

A court has ruled the search giant is not liable for French back-tax after all. Google will face other battles over how it arranges its profits. Tech companies will always have an advantage, though. Unlike competing European countries, they can put their global interest first.

Overhaul pits taxman against Indian ingenuity

3 Jul 2017

The rollout of a nationwide goods and services levy has been surprisingly smooth. The real prize would be shrinking the informal economy. Yet citizens have circumvented Prime Minister Modi's previous big reforms. That makes it too soon to hail GST a success.

Hadas: The constant challenge of deep-set problems

21 Jun 2017

The deadly fire in London’s Grenfell Tower has exposed the UK’s deeply flawed approach to housing. But serious policy flaws aren’t exclusively British. Americans fail in healthcare and Greeks won’t pay taxes. The only cure is a values revolution.

Modi’s India can ride out giant tax reform

13 Jun 2017

The nation is ill-prepared for the July 1 rollout of a fiddly new goods and services tax. Yet Premier Modi’s recent money experiment shows India can handle significant disruption. And for all its flaws, the tax overhaul will smooth the way to more efficient, less corrupt economy.

Yahoo investors are U.S. tax-reform skeptics

12 Jun 2017

With the sale of its core business ratified by shareholders, the company's $52 bln worth should reflect the after-tax value of stakes in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan. For now, the implied tax hit is 35 pct. People who believe Trump will succeed in slashing taxes should buy the stock.

Kansas GOP to D.C. GOP: trickle down ain’t coming

7 Jun 2017

Lawmakers scrapped the 2013 tax cuts pushed by the state's governor, who believed they would spur hiring and spending. Instead Kansas got budget deficits and failing schools. Donald Trump also hopes slashing federal taxes will boost growth. Congress may yet disagree.

Tax windfall charges up RWE, E.ON recovery

7 Jun 2017

Germany’s battered utilities can get back more than 6 bln euros in past tax payments, the country’s top court decided. It’s the final stage in the sector’s rehabilitation, following big restructurings and settlements on nuclear liabilities – and sets the scene for M&A.