Fiscal Reform Lessons from the Anglosphere
Alex Brill and Sean Speer | Real Clear Policy
Congress is deeply entrenched in an effort to reform the federal tax code. Central to this effort is a desire to lower the U.S. corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent — a level on par with the rest of the developed world. Policymakers are keenly aware of the competitive advantages this change could bring based on similar rate changes across Europe and around the globe.
But the lesson of corporate tax reform that the U.S. has learned from its peers may be an exception rather than the rule. The U.S. sometimes tends toward insularity and a false assumption that international peers have few worthwhile lessons to share. This is a mistake. America’s exceptionalism shouldn’t preclude it from drawing on experiences of other countries, particularly those with similar ideas, institutions, and values. Fiscal policy is a case in point.
