Corporate tax rates matter for growth. This week’s edition of The Economist features a great chart comparing the U.S. corporate tax rate to...
Corporate tax rates matter for growth. This week’s edition of The Economist features a great chart comparing the U.S. corporate tax rate to the average rate for OECD countries from the early 1980s through 2010. The bottom line is that the U.S. is not very competitive. In 2010, the combined (federal, state, and local) corporate tax rate was just under 40% in the U.S., approximately 10 percentage points higher than the average rate for the OECD. To become competitive again — as it was in the 1980s — the U.S. needs to lower its rate substantially. Tax competitiveness is one recipe for growth.
