Oooh, super! We just love competitive markets, even in tax

As everyone knows - well, everyone not wholly, drivellingly, unperceptive - competitive markets are what drive standards up over time. Also, what drives down costs over time. Someone works out a new way to do something, a better way, a cheaper way, and consumers flock to that provider and or supplier. This means that everyone else has to up their game in order to stay in business and so the general level - of better, cheaper - rises over time.

Donald Trump has opened the door to a global tax war

War is the wrong word there. More strongly competitive market would be a better description. But for those who want to use “war” to mean strongly competitive market by all means….

For there isn’t any reason - none at all - why competition does not improve governance. That attempt at building a global monopoly of taxation is there for the same reason anyone else tries to build a monopoly. Because monopolies are immune from the pressure of what the consumer might actually want or what they can be charged for it.

The whole and entire reason for trying to have no global tax competition is so that the populace can be rooked without being able to do anything about it. The aim, purpose and intent of having markets in taxation, markets across jurisdictions, is so that our governors have to at least attempt to provide value for money.

A global tax war? Bring. It. On.

Tim Worstall

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