Religion & Liberty Online

The Acton Institute spreads word of the Laffer Curve to France

One of the truths lawmakers across the transatlantic sphere must grasp is simple yet seemingly self-contradictory: Higher tax rates sometime lead to lower government revenue. This is one tradition which has deeper roots in the U.S. than in Europe, thanks to economist Arthur Laffer and the influence of his “Laffer Curve.” Now, the Acton Institute’s friend, Etienne Chaumeton, has translated an article on that topic into French for Religion & Liberty Transatlantic.

La courbe de Laffer vérifiée… au Canada” explains how Canada’s Fraser Institute found empirical evidence supporting Laffer’s theory:

[Arthur] Laffer a fait valoir que des taux d’imposition plus élevés entraînent des recettes fiscales plus élevées, mais seulement jusqu’à un certain point. Une fois que le taux d’imposition a atteint un certain niveau, les recettes fiscales perçues par le gouvernement diminuent, car les citoyens réagissent à la désincitation causée par l’impôt en réduisant leur travail et leurs investissements. Quand les rendements deviennent trop faibles, les personnes n’ont plus d’intérêt à faire des efforts supplémentaires.

L’Institut Fraser au Canada vient de publier une nouvelle étude qui confirme encore une fois cette théorie.

Read the full French translation here.

(Photo credit: Images Money. This photo has been cropped. CC BY 2.0.)

Rev. Ben Johnson

Rev. Ben Johnson (@therightswriter) is an Eastern Orthodox priest and served as Executive Editor of the Acton Institute (2016-2021), editing Religion & Liberty, the Powerblog, and its transatlantic website. He has extensively researched the Alt-Right. Previously, he worked for LifeSiteNews and FrontPageMag.com, where he wrote three books including Party of Defeat (with David Horowitz, 2008). His work has appeared at DailyWire.com, National Review, The American Spectator, The Guardian, Daily Caller, National Catholic Register, Spectator USA, FEE Online, RealClear Policy, The Blaze, The Stream, American Greatness, Aleteia, Providence Magazine, Charisma, Jewish World Review, Human Events, Intellectual Takeout, CatholicVote.org, Issues & Insights, The Conservative, Rare.us, and The American Orthodox Institute. His personal websites are therightswriter.com and RevBenJohnson.com. His views are his own.