The Fallacy of Percentage-Based Excise Taxes: Why Global Health Targets Miss the Mark

For years, international health organizations and policymakers have operated under a seemingly simple, yet deeply flawed, fiscal assumption: that the most effective way to reduce the consumption of specific goods—most notably tobacco—is to ensure that taxes account for a fixed percentage of the retail price. The World Health Organization (WHO), in particular, has championed a…

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The Tariff-Expensing Fallacy: Why Full Expensing Cannot Offset Protectionist Costs

In a recent contribution to The Wall Street Journal, former White House Council of Economic Advisers chair Stephen Miran presented an intriguing, albeit mathematically flawed, defense of the Trump administration’s trade policy. Miran argued that the administration’s aggressive tariff regime is not merely a protectionist tool but a functional improvement to the U.S. tax landscape….

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