Friday, April 28, 2017

Origin based vs. destination based taxes

Follow up to Greg Mankiw article on taxes:

ORIGIN-BASED VS. DESTINATION-BASED TAXATION: The corporate tax system is now origin-based. If we change to a destination based taxation (where it is consumed instead of produced), this would encourage US exports and discourage imports. But then the exchange rates would adjust:
...Americans would supply fewer dollars in foreign-exchange markets, and foreigners would demand more dollars. As a result, the dollar would appreciate, making foreign goods cheaper for Americans, and American goods more expensive for foreigners. The movement in the exchange rate would offset the initial impact on imports and exports.

If the exchange rate adjusted completely, the so called "border tax" would become equivalent to a Value-added tax, with all the attendant benefits:  low rates over a broad base (non distortionary, i.e., people would not spend lots of effort trying to avoid it), and shifts taxes to consumption rather than income (encourages production/income).

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