January 11, 2006
Flat Tax Experiment
The IMF has published a breakthrough report on great results following a controversial move by Russian tax authorities. About 5 years ago, Russia cut through its tangled web of income tax brackets and simplified legislation to tax everyone (essentially) equally at 13%. Considering the former range of brackets extended from 12% to 30%, this was a very low choice and led to speculations that the Russian government's income would be a lot less than in former years.
Turns out that Russia actually raised collections by 26%. What great news: people were taxed at lower rates, but somehow the government ended up with more cash in their pockets. With such a pot of gold in sight, neighboring central Asian and Eastern European countries are now scrambling to implement similar measures.
Posted by Michelle Smith at 09:23 PM | Comments (0)
August 01, 2005
A New Sport For Europe?
Unemployment in Europe is now like a spectator sport. Massive layoffs happen so often these days that one could grab a couple of mates together, flip on the BBC, and have a lovely afternoon placing bets on today's hits.
Posted by Michelle Smith at 08:23 PM | Comments (0)