Dr Jeff Cornwall

Tag Archives: tax

A Candidate for Entrepreneurs?

I have worried openly that both major parties in the US are following agendas that have little to offer for entrepreneurs.  All of the remaining candidates in both parties favor programs that will lead to higher taxes and expanded roles for government. 

This past weekend the Libertanian Party chose former Republican congressman Bob Barr as its presidential candidate for 2008.  Might he offer an alternative choice more favorable to our entrepreneurial economy?

What helps entrepreneurs is lower, simpler taxes and less governmental involvement in the economy.  These are the two of the major issues addressed thus far by Barr.  He favors a massive roll-back in the role of federal government and a change to a consumption tax (which includes a repeal of the 16th amendment that created the income tax).

Does he have a chance of winning?  Probably not.  But, he currently is already tracking about 6% in recent polls.  This is much higher than any Libertarian candidate has ever registered.

He does offer a voice for those who favor more freedom and less government.  The last two Republican Presidents and the current party nominee have all left that part of their party behind.  Just a Nader pulled the Democrats sharply left, as we see in the two final candidates remaining this year, perhaps Barr could help pull the Republicans back to the right.

I don’t endorse candidates at this site.  But I do examine how their issues impact small business and our entrepreneurial economy.  Mr. Barr has caught my attention.

Oh, Canada?

American politicians are talking about higher tax rates, bigger government, and intervention by bureaucrats in markets to pick winners and losers (what I call socialized entrepreneurship).  As the US drifts toward socialism, could we see our neighbors to the north passing by us heading away from such policies?

From the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship (emphasis added):

A new study from Canada’s Institute for Research and Public Policy seeks to understand why and to see whether any potential solutions are available. The author, Donald McFetridge, fingers the business sector’s lack of innovation and entrepreneurial spirit as primary cause for Canada’s productivity lag. While the Canadian government has introduced multiple programs to stimulate innovation, the national innovation culture is still quite weak. McFetridge contends that new innovation policies should focus on supporting “market incentives for entrepreneurship” through reduced taxes and regulation.

Blaming the Victim

I am in Cleveland at John Carroll University this week conducting a workshop on taking entrepreneurship across the campus.

Last night over dinner, one of my hosts told a story about a recent business event.  A local business leader said that one of the problems with economy in Northeastern Ohio is that they don’t have enough entrepreneurs.

Trust me.  I am sure that there are plenty of aspiring entrepreneurs.  Every survey shows how prevalent entrepreneurial aspirations are in America today.  No, the problem is not with a shortage of entrepreneurs.  The problem is that this area does not have public policy that supports entrepreneurial economic activity.

For example, one of the most important predictor of entrepreneurial activity is taxes — Ohio ranks 46th in overall tax rank in a recent report by the Tax Foundation.  Even worse, Ohio ranks 48th in individual taxes.  Since most entrepreneurial ventures are pass-through entities (LLCs, S-corp, partnership or sole proprietorship), the individual tax ranking is the most important tax predictor of entrepreneurial activity.