Dear Sir or Madam: These comments are submitted on behalf of the American Consumer Institute (ACI), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, non-partisan, educational, and public policy research organization with the mission to identify, analyze, and project interests of consumers in selected legislative and rulemaking proceedings in matters that affect consumers. ACI appreciates the opportunity to submit these […]
Taxation
Morning Consult — OECD Tax Plan: Joe, Just Say No
As President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office and make good on his promise to reverse the Trump tax cuts, he should do everything within his power to avoid piling on with a heavy dose of new international taxes. With the United States squarely in its sights, a recent Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development tax […]
Real Clear Policy: The OECD’s Big Cash Grab
Nearly 140 countries around the world, led by the OECD, are rewriting rules that would tax high-tech and multinational companies. The proposed rules would effectively transfer tax rights between countries, including allocating shares of taxable profits, determining which country should have tax authority, and a minimum tax rate. The current proposal is little more than an opportunistic […]
ICYMI: Postmaster General is Delivering Important Postal Fixes
Last week, American Consumer Institute CEO and President Steve Pociask published an op-ed in Real Clear Policy, highlighting the new reforms that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has brought to the Postal Service. In less than four months, DeJoy has been able to implement meaningful reform, despite being delayed due to over-politicization and misinformation. Specifically, Pociask points […]
Silver Lining in the Postal Service’s Dismal Q3 Financials
Last week, the United States Postal Service (USPS) released their Q3 financials, posting a staggering net loss of $2.2 billion. Unsurprisingly, the USPS continues to hemorrhage funds and is not yet independently sustainable without serious intervention. During the COVID-19 pandemic, system costs have grown, as product demand has shifted. To become economically viable, it is […]
Coalition Opposes Continuing Taxpayer Funded Energy Subsidies
Today, ACI joined twenty-three other nonprofit organizations in opposition to extending production tax credits and investment tax credits that are used to subsidize solar and wind energy. The intent of the subsidies was to give initial support these “infant” industries. Now, after years of support and an established foothold for these industries, solar and wind […]
Coalition Letter Supports Efforts to Help in the Economic Recovery from COVID
ACI joined a large coalition of groups in support of the expansion of full expensing provisions in the U.S. tax code. The CREATE JOBS Act proposes to allow business investments, Research and Development, and capital expenditures in rental and commercial structures to be fully expensed, rather than depreciated. That provision will act as an bold […]
Inside Sources: States Misuse Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement Funds
States across the United States misuse funds that are extracted from a landmark, multi-jurisdiction legal settlement reached with tobacco companies in November of 1998. Attorneys general for 46 states, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico entered into the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). The settlement promises the federal and state governments billions […]
ACI Joins Coalition in Opposition to Special Interest Corporate Subsidies
Today, ACI signed onto a coalition letter in opposition to the “Moving Forward Act.” The Act would renew investment/production tax credits and subsidize well-capitalized, politically connected corporations at the expense of struggling consumers. The full letter is available online.
Hoarding Uranium Fixes a Problem that Doesn’t Exist
Nuclear power represents an unparalleled opportunity to provide stable and reliable emissions-free energy. However, plans to pour $150 million in taxpayer money into the domestic mining industry resolve a supply chain problem that doesn’t exist. To support the nuclear industry and the benefits it provides, the federal government needs to fix the nuclear waste problem […]