How the taxation of capital affects growth and employment

Chairman Casey, Vice Chairman Brady, and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me to appear today to discuss how the taxation of capital affects the economy.

This nation employs several methods for taxing capital income, both at the individual and the corporate level.  There is a massive economic literature that documents strong theoretical and empirical support for the United States to reduce its capital taxes. The consensus amongst economists on these issues has had a hit-and- miss record driving political consensus. There has been a strong bipartisan consensus regarding capital gains taxes, which were cut dramatically by Jimmy Carter in 1978, and again by Bill Clinton in 1997. Dividend taxes are also currently low, having been extended on a bipartisan basis in 2010. There has been less of a political consensus regarding the corporate tax, and the U.S.'s currents status as the highest tax country in the developed world is likely the most pressing tax policy issue of the day.

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About the Author

 

Kevin A.
Hassett

  • Kevin A. Hassett is the John G. Searle Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He is also a resident scholar and AEI's director of economic policy studies.


    Before joining AEI, Hassett was a senior economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and an associate professor of economics and finance at Columbia (University) Business School. He served as a policy consultant to the US Department of the Treasury during the George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations.


    Hassett has also been an economic adviser to presidential candidates since 2000, when he became the chief economic adviser to Senator John McCain during that year's presidential primaries. He served as an economic adviser to the George W. Bush 2004 presidential campaign, a senior economic adviser to the McCain 2008 presidential campaign, and an economic adviser to the Mitt Romney 2012 presidential campaign.


    Hassett is the author or editor of many books, among them "Rethinking Competitiveness" (2012), "Toward Fundamental Tax Reform" (2005), "Bubbleology: The New Science of Stock Market Winners and Losers" (2002), and "Inequality and Tax Policy" (2001). He is also a columnist for National Review and has written for Bloomberg.


    Hassett frequently appears on Bloomberg radio and TV, CNBC, CNN, Fox News Channel, NPR, and "PBS NewsHour," among others. He is also often quoted by, and his opinion pieces have been published in, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.


    Hassett has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in economics from Swarthmore College.




  • Phone: 202-862-7157
    Email: khassett@aei.org
  • Assistant Info

    Name: Emma Bennett
    Phone: 202-862-5862
    Email: emma.bennett@aei.org

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