The combined U.S. statutory corporate tax rate is more than 12 percentage points higher than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average. At the same time, the United States is the only OECD country that does not have a national value-added type tax, and U.S. rules for taxing foreign source income also diverge from common international practice.
On February 20, the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center (TPC) and the International Tax Policy Forum held a half-day conference to assess the extent to which the U.S. tax system differs from international norms and whether these differences affect U.S. economic performance.
William Gale, Brookings vice president and director of Economic Studies, and TPC co-director, provided introductory comments.
Presentation Slides:
Taxation of Foreign Income by the U.S. and Other Governments »
by James R. Hines Jr.
Corporate Income Tax Burdens at Home and Abroad »
by Kevin Markle and Douglas A. Shackelford
Comments on “Corporate Income Tax Burdens at Home and Abroad” »
by Martin A. Sullivan
Taxing Multinational Firms: Securing Jobs or the New Protectionism? »
by Alan Auerbach
Agenda
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February 20
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9:00 AM -- Welcome and Introduction
William G. Gale Senior Fellow - Economic Studies, The Arjay and Frances Fearing Miller Chair in Federal Economic Policy, Co-Director - Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center -
9:10 -- Panel 1: Taxation of Foreign Income by the U.S. and Other Governments
Michael J. Graetz Professor Emeritus - Columbia Law School, Professor Emeritus - Yale Law School, Author - The Power to Destroy: How the Antitax Movement Hijacked AmericaJames R. Hines Richard A. Musgrave Collegiate Professor of Economics and the L. Hart Wright Collegiate Professor of Law - University of Michigan -
9:50 -- Panel 2: Corporate Tax Burdens at Home and Around the World
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11:00 -- Panel 3: Is U.S. Corporate Investment Abroad Bad for the U.S. Economy?
Alan J. Auerbach Robert D. Burch Professor of Economics and Law - Economics Department, UC-Berkeley, Director - Robert D. Burch Center for Tax Policy and Public FinanceMihir Desai Mizuho Financial Group Professor of Finance - Harvard University -
11:45 -- Panel 4: Does It Matter If the United States Deviates from International Tax Norms?
James R. Hines Richard A. Musgrave Collegiate Professor of Economics and the L. Hart Wright Collegiate Professor of Law - University of MichiganMichael J. Graetz Professor Emeritus - Columbia Law School, Professor Emeritus - Yale Law School, Author - The Power to Destroy: How the Antitax Movement Hijacked America -
1:00 PM -- Luncheon Address
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