The title of this seminar, “Rebuilding the U .S. Industrial Base: The Role of Tax Policy and Economic Growth,” reflects the current concern over how our federal taxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities. code impacts corporate strength and economic growth. Too often over the past decade, we have seen major tax policy changes which were implemented simply as quick-fix revenue raises. These were done without proper analysis or proper debate as to what their economic consequences would be — what they would do to America’s competitiveness. These are the issues examined in the proceedings of our May 22, 1991 seminar.
We brought together a group of leading experts from business, government, and academia to objectively examine how our current tax policies are impacting economic growth and what policies would be necessary to form a pro-growth tax policy for the long term. Their comments and conclusions point to the need for significant reforms.
The current recession has re-awakened concern over the relationship between tax policy and economic growth. How does our current tax system impact the industrial base, both in manufacturing and the service sectors? This question, we believe, should be at the forefront of every tax policy debate because without a strong and growing economy, the tax base itself is eroded. And, if the U.S. is to continue as a world leader, we must set tax policies that will put us on a path of expansion to induce more investment, more research, increased productivity and increased employment.
The presentations at the seminar and our precis of each are contained in these proceedings. Instrumental in putting together the program were James Q. Riordan and James C. Miller III, co-chairmen of the Tax Foundation, along with Robert Hannon, M.D. “Buck” Menssen and Glenn White, co-chairmen of the Tax Foundation’s Program Committee . The Foundation’s special thanks go to Edward A. Sprague, consultant to the Tax Council, for editing the proceedings.
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