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Do you have any resources for how in-dispute the (eventual) currency adjustment part is? As you probably know, there is never 100% agreement among economists o
by throwaway34241 5y ago
Do you have any resources for how in-dispute the (eventual) currency adjustment part is? As you probably know, there is never 100% agreement among economists on anything, and no matter how narrow the opposition is you can often count on politically-motivated groups to find and promote it relentlessly.
The main data I have is both Mankiw and Krugman (both highly eminent economists from different sides of the aisle) seemed to think it checked out (and the idea is over 20 years old at this point, so it's not that new). Krugman in particular got his Nobel on trade and, uh, is not normally inclined to say nice things about Republicans (this was proposed in the US as part of a Republican tax reform initiative).
So that's enough for me to presume that the math is probably OK, although I admit I'm not capable of checking it myself, and it would be nice if a more comprehensive survey was available.
If the currency adjustment does balance out I'm not sure who the (eventual) losers would be aside from internationals that profit-shift to low tax jurisdictions (which was the whole point).
Of course if the currency adjustment wasn't immediate you could see winners/losers for some period. I'm sure there would be other transition costs, the tax system is already pretty complex and thinking about all the edge cases while switching between two completely different tax regimes seemed rather headache-inducing.
- zizee 5y agoMy comment was not arguing one way or another. Instead I was pointing out that the original wording of your top level comment might mislead people as it sounded like there was little doubt to the effectiveness of a Border Adjustment Tax, when in truth it has never been tried. Rereading your original post it now seems more reasonable. I don't know if that is because it has been edited, or because I am reading it in a new light. To be clear, I welcome the suggestion of trying new solutions. The current system is clearly broken.
- throwaway34241 5y agoNP, FWIW I didn't make any edits that should change the tone (although I think I did make one trivial change in the first 60 seconds or so before any replies).
- zizee 5y agoAll good mate. Enjoy your weekend.