Cutting taxes has been the religion of free market conservatives ever since the days of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Now others, including President Jacques Chirac of France, Edmund Stoiber in Germany, and even Sweden's socialists have joined the call for lower taxes. Economic efficiency is the main argument used to justify tax cuts, but confused claims of tax "fairness" have always played an important role as well. Surprisingly, the same confusion afflicts both supporters of tax cuts and their opponents.
Cutting taxes has been the religion of free market conservatives ever since the days of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Now others, including President Jacques Chirac of France, Edmund Stoiber in Germany, and even Sweden's socialists have joined the call for lower taxes. Economic efficiency is the main argument used to justify tax cuts, but confused claims of tax "fairness" have always played an important role as well. Surprisingly, the same confusion afflicts both supporters of tax cuts and their opponents.