Edward Conard

Top Ten New York Times Bestselling Author

  • “There are an amazing number of good ideas and interesting points made in Unintended Consequences. The thinking underlying it, and the obvious depth of understanding of the author, are very impressive.” - Steven Levitt, coauthor of Freakonomics; 2004 John Bates Clark Medal
  • “Unintended Consequences provides a provocative interpretation of the causes of the global financial crisis and the policies needed to return to rapid growth. Whether you agree or not, this analysis is well worth reading.” - Nouriel Roubini, New York University; Chairman, Roubini Global Economics
  • “…reminds us that inequality sends a signal of what society lacks most, in America’s case, entrepreneurship and risk taking.” - Lawrence Lindsey, CEO, The Lindsey Group, former Director of the National Economic Council
  • “Unintended Consequences represents the most cogent and persuasive analysis of the Financial Crisis to date.” - Andrei Shleifer, 1999 John Bates Clark Medal Winner
  • “A full-throated defense of economic dynamism.” - The Wall Street Journal
  • “…a comprehensive explanation of the modern economy.” - Julian Robertson, Founder, Tiger Management
  • “…a must-read for serious students of economic policy.” - Glenn Hubbard, Dean, Columbia Business School, and former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
  • “…challenges misconceptions that distort our economic debates.” - Arthur Brooks, President of the American Enterprise Institute
  • “Unintended Consequences should be read by anyone who takes for granted the superiority of progressive taxation and has not thought carefully about the trade-offs involved.” - The New Republic
  • “…challenges misconceptions that distort our economic debates.” - Arthur Brooks, President of the American Enterprise Institute
  • “Unintended Consequences offers deep and well-argued analyses on almost every issue.” - The New York Times
  • “Unintended Consequences is full of substance, it is one of the must-read books of the year, and once I finish it I will be giving it a second read through right away.” - Tyler Cowen, Professor, George Mason University
Upside of Inequality Oxford Unintended Consequences

Brad Setser New York Times
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@Brad_Setser The global distribution of corporations’ offshore profits remains largely unchanged, with over half still booked in low-tax nations. The TCJA has not effectively altered the incentives for booking profits offshore.

Despite the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) aiming to incentivize the repatriation of offshore profits, the global distribution of corporations' offshore profits remains largely unchanged. Over half of the profits reported by American companies abroad are still booked in a few low-tax nations, indicating persistent tax avoidance strategies. The repatriation deal led to a temporary surge in profits returning to the U.S., but the total amount fell short of the trillions anticipated, with much of it fueling stock buybacks rather than economic growth. The scale of tax shifting is so significant that addressing it could potentially increase reported GDP by over 1%. This highlights that the TCJA has not effectively altered the incentives for booking profits offshore, as multinational corporations continue to exploit low-tax jurisdictions like Ireland, the Netherlands, and Bermuda to minimize tax liabilities.

Breaking rule to show you this op-ed from Brad Setser as I suspect it's going to make a big splash

"...But now that a full year has passed since the tax bill became law, we have hard numbers we can evaluate. For starters, the law’s repatriation deal did prompt a brief surge in offshore profits returning to the United States. But the total sum returned so far is well below the trillions many proponents predicted, and a large chunk of the returned funds have been used for record-breaking stock buybacks, which don’t help workers and generate little real economic activity...... The global distribution of corporations’ offshore profits — our best measure of their tax avoidance gymnastics — hasn’t budged from the prevailing trend. Well over half the profits that American companies report earning abroad are still booked in only a few low-tax nations — places that, of course, are not actually home to the customers, workers and taxpayers facilitating most of their business. A multinational corporation can route its global sales through Ireland, pay royalties to its Dutch subsidiary and then funnel income to its Bermudian subsidiary — taking advantage of Bermuda’s corporate tax rate of zero....The scale of the tax shifting has become so immense that some economists believe curbing it could raise reported G.D.P. by well over a percentage point— something Mr. Trump, who’s been absorbed by opportunities to brag about the economy, should notionally welcome...."

Brad Setser, "The Global Con Hidden in Trump’s Tax Reform Law, Revealed,"New York Times, February 6, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/06/opinion/business-economics/trump-tax-reform-state-of-the-union-2019.html

Showing 47 database articles primarily about Taxation