Tax reform

Do nacional-desenvolvimentismo ao neoliberalismo: o Partido Republicano, o Estado nacional e os impostos

by Clayton M. Cunha Filho

CUNHA FILHO, Clayton Mendonça. Do nacional-desenvolvimentismo ao neoliberalismo: o Partido Republicano, o Estado nacional e os impostos. Rev. Sociol. Polit.,  Curitiba,  v. 20,  n. 41, fev.  2012 . 

http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0104-44782012000100007.

ABSTRACT

The present paper seeks an understanding of the ideology of the Republican Party of the United... more ABSTRACT

The present paper seeks an understanding of the ideology of the Republican Party of the United States of America with respect to the State, through its ideas and position regarding the way the State is financed: the taxation of United States citizens. For this purpose, we have looked at the history of the Republican Party and made a case study of the tax cuts implemented by President George Bush during his first mandate (2001-2004), asking what they were, who they benefitted and what kind of impact they had on the financing of United States state machinery. We analyze the ideological reasons for these cuts and how they reflect the current Republican position on the State, contextualizing and contrasting this position with those that were adopted and defended by the Party at the time of its founding and over the course of its history. We discover than the history of the Republican Party can be divided into two ideological phases: the first one, which runs from its founding in 1854 through the mid 1920s in which the State is seen as inducing economic development and maintaining national unity and the second, which brings us up to the present, in which the State gradually cedes its role in inciting the economy to one in which individual freedom should prevail and in which the State is increasingly seen as an obstacle which should be eliminated.

Keywords: Republican Party; Taxes; State; Ideology.


RESUMO

O presente trabalho busca entender a ideologia do Partido Republicano dos Estados Unidos com relação ao Estado a partir de suas ideias e posicionamentos acerca do modo pelo qual esse Estado é financiado: a tributação dos cidadãos estadunidenses. Para tanto, foi feito um estudo histórico do Partido Republicano e um estudo de caso dos cortes de impostos levados a cabo pelo presidente George W. Bush em seu primeiro mandato (2001-2004): em que consistem, a quem beneficiam e quais seus impactos no financiamento da máquina pública estadunidense. Foram analisadas as razões ideológicas dos cortes e como as mesmas refletem a posição atual dos republicanos em relação ao Estado, contextualizando e contrastando a mesma com as posições defendidas e adotadas pelo Partido em sua fundação e ao longo de sua história. Descobrimos que a história do Partido Republicano pode ser dividida em duas fases ideológicas: a primeira, que vai de sua fundação em 1854 até meados dos anos 1920, em que o Estado é visto como indutor do desenvolvimento econômico e mantenedor da unidade nacional; e a segunda, que chega até os dias de hoje, em que o Estado cede progressivamente o lugar de indutor econômico à liberdade individual e passa a ser visto cada vez mais como um obstáculo a ser eliminado.

Palavra-chave: Partido Republicano; impostos; Estado; ideologia.

RESUMÉ

Le travail qui suit cherche à comprendre l'idéologie du Parti Républicain des Etats-Unis de l'Amérique par rapport à l'Etat à partir de ses idées et positionnement autour de la manière dont cet Etat est financé : les impôts des citoyens américains. Pour cela, une étude historique du Parti Républicain a été faite, ainsi comme une étude de cas des réductions d'impôts réalisés par le président George W. Bush pendant son premier mandat (2001-2004): en quoi elles consistent, à qui elles bénéficient et quels sont leurs impacts sur le financement public américain. Les raisons idéologiques des réductions et comment elles reflètent la position actuelle des républicains par rapport à l'Etat ont été analysées, en contextualisant et contrastant celle-là avec les positions soutenues et adoptées par le Parti au moment de sa fondation et au long de son histoire. Nous découvrons que l'histoire du Parti Républicain peut être divisée en deux phases idéologiques : la première, depuis sa fondation en 1854 jusqu'aux années 1920, où l'Etat est vu comme un inducteur du développement économique et préservarteur de l'unité nationale ; et la deuxième, toujours actuelle, où l'Etat cède progressivement sa place d'inducteur économique à la liberté individuelle, et est considéré de plus en plus comme un obstacle à être éliminé.

Mots-clés: Parti Républicain ; impôts ; Etat ; idéologie.

The Super-committee Collapse and America’s health care Future – Impact on Providers, Households and the 2012 Elections, The Forum at Harvard School of Public Health presented in Collaboration with Reuters December 16, 2011

by Adrian Toader-Williams

Keywords. Social Contract Human Rights Health Freedom Economy Economics Equilibrium TEKT Triangular Ecokinematics Theory Webcast Romania Retirement Law Education Security Sustainable Development Government Finances Banks Money Inflation Attribution.
Harvard Webcast intervention: Social Contracts? One of the main problems I see is that the pharmaceutical industry, as well as the entire health system, absorbs lots of profits. Healthcare is at the foundation of human rights, and all people should benefit. How do you see the health care system regulated as to respect human rights? The instability found in the social contract has to do with healthcare and retirement being secured for people. If there’s instability, it can lead to “civil unrest at different levels.” I think maybe we have seen a little bit of that with the Occupy Wall Street feelings about how society is ordered. Full transcript at http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/forum/files/transcript-20111216.pdf

Harvard Webcast Authors: ROBERT BLENDON, DAVID CUTLER, GAIL WILENSKY, JOHN ROTHER, ROS KRASNY, ROBIN HERMAN.... more Harvard Webcast Authors: ROBERT BLENDON, DAVID CUTLER, GAIL WILENSKY, JOHN ROTHER, ROS KRASNY, ROBIN HERMAN. Intervention Adrian Toader-Williams: Social Contracts? One of the main problems I see is that the pharmaceutical industry, as well as the entire health system, absorbs lots of profits. Healthcare is at the foundation of human rights, and all people should benefit. How do you see the health care system regulated as to respect human rights? The instability found in the social contract has to do with healthcare and retirement being secured for people. If there’s instability, it can lead to “civil unrest at different levels.” I think maybe we have seen a little bit of that with the Occupy Wall Street feelings about how society is ordered. Full transcript at http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/forum/files/transcript-20111216.pdf

The Constitutionality of the Taxation Consequences for Renouncing US Citizenship

by William Worster

Individuals that renounce their U.S. citizenship are held to a special taxation regime as a consequence for their... more Individuals that renounce their U.S. citizenship are held to a special taxation regime as a consequence for their expatriation that is unique in the world and, this article will argue, unconstitutional. Originally, renunciation of citizenship was seen as the ultimate income tax reduction device, but this option has now lost much of its attractiveness as Congress has passed “exit tax” provisions that impose a tax liability on individuals who have renounced U.S. citizenship similar to that imposed on U.S. citizens.

This article will argue that, as it currently stands, the exit tax is not constitutional because it is not narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling government interest and must be judged at that standard because it infringes on the fundamental right to expatriate and discriminates based on national origin.

Tax parameters in the Portuguese economy: Part I - Indirect taxes

by Pedro G. Rodrigues

Tax reform in the context of budgetary restraint: a note on the Portuguese case

by Pedro G. Rodrigues

On the impact of a tax shock in Portugal

by Pedro G. Rodrigues

Apparatus of capture: Fiscal state formation in the republic of Georgia

by Samuel Schueth

How did the rate of central government tax revenue more than triple in (the post-Soviet republic of) Georgia over... more How did the rate of central government tax revenue more than triple in (the post-Soviet republic of) Georgia over 2004-2007? This paper investigates fiscal state formation in Georgia using ethnographic fieldwork to document how the reformist government brought to power by the 2003 "Rose Revolution" impelled tax compliance using a set of tactics of anti-corruption, anti-tax evasion, individual accountability, and compromising information collected through extra-legal surveillance. The use of ethnographic methods to examine the recent and rapid process of state formation in Georgia is a departure from much of the extant literature on state formation, which is dominated by historical scholarship that examines relatively long-term processes of political and economic change culminating in the present state. In contrast, the approach taken here uses the Deleuzian concept of assemblage to examine how the state is a process of continuous formation. The fast emergence of a historically unprecedented scale of tax compliance in Georgia was the result of the application of particular techniques of government that assembled micro-subjective dispositions into a macro-institutional process of revenue capture.

A Simple Model of Endogenous Tax Reform with Irreversible Investment and Tax Breaks

by Chuck Coleman

The Living Economy Elaborated and with Examples

by Damir Ibrisimovic

Draft 1.1

The Living Economy

by Damir Ibrisimovic

My snake oil for world's ills...

Coordinated Tax-Tariff Reforms, Informality, and Welfare Distribution

by Jenny Ligthart

Coordinating Tariff Reduction and Domestic Tax Reform Under Imperfect Competition*

by Jenny Ligthart

Argentine subnational case and Chilean national case of revenue internet services: is there a new e-tax benchmark arising in South America?

by Javier Carranza Tresoldi

3rd International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV2009)

A vast development of Internet services in Latin America contrasts in terms of access and affordability of ICTs for... more A vast development of Internet services in Latin America contrasts in terms of access and affordability of ICTs for its population. When considering e-tax systems, things are slightly different: A generous array of ICT techniques and tools are available for the people. Web services, mobile information services, electronic IDs, member electronic cards, online bank account transfers and the like configure the so called "holistic" approach for tax collection in Latin America. These advanced tools make things that where hitherto impossible, now possible - better interaction with citizens, lower transaction costs, more transparent processes, egalitarian treatment, and an improved democracy in emerging economies.

This imposes a huge challenge for public organizations and their officials, particularly when simple and low-cost tools are made available to organize tax collection issues, which was unthinkable before. This challenging duty was picked up in some countries. A new paradigm emerges from the Chilean and Argentinean experiences, both countries with a young democracy and high levels of professionalism in tax services.

For instance, Chile has established a tuned up system of electronic tax return filing and tax payments. On the other hand, the Province of Buenos Aires in Argentina has developed web 2.0 services for corporate tax payers. This paper proposes a comparative exercise between both experiences in order to depict an e-tax system benchmark for other countries in the same need. The comparison includes tax return filling systems, information campaigns to increase awareness and usage of electronic tax products and services. The specific strategies in these two countries are depicted in order to replicate or transform them in other countries of similar situation, so as to assure higher rates of take-up of e-tax systems.

Revenue organizations that are at an early stage in their development of electronic services may benefit from the examination of these approaches and experiences. There are many "good practice" conclusions that can be drawn from a South American e-tax benchmark as many countries lag behind their level of development.

Coordinating Tariff Reduction and Domestic Tax Reform

by Jenny Ligthart

O Partido Republicano e a Questão Tributária: um estudo de caso sobre os cortes de impostos de George W. Bush (2001-2004)

by Clayton M. Cunha Filho

Monografia apresentada ao  curso de Ciências Sociais da  Universidade Federal do Ceará  para obtenção do grau de  Bacharel em Ciências Sociais

The present work aims to understand the Republican Party’s ideology towards the State from its ideas and positions... more The present work aims to understand the Republican Party’s ideology towards the State from its ideas and positions about the way this State is financed: the taxation of US citizens. For such, a historical study of the party was conducted, as well as a case study of the tax cuts enacted by George W. Bush in his first term (2001-2004): what do they consist of, who do they benefit and what are their impacts on the financing of the American public apparatus. The ideological reasons for the cuts and how do they reflect the Party’s current position about the State were analyzed and contrasted with the same positions championed by the Party in its foundation and first ideological era. We found that its ideological history can be divided in two eras: the first, from its foundation in 1854 until around the 1920s, in which the State is seen as an economic growth stimulator and maintainer of the national unity; and the second, that reaches present days, in which the State progressively gives way to the individual liberty as a growth stimulator and starts to be seen as an obstacle. It’s within this neoliberal ideological stage, enormously intensified through the 1980s with the Reagan administrations, that the recent tax cuts may be understood. Since the State is now an obstacle, it’s convenient to diminish its sources of income. Since the action of individuals is what leads to development, it’s convenient to leave the economic resources that would be transferred to State via taxation in their hands.