Is taxing debt a good idea?

Paul Volcker thinks so; I don’t know, but it’s an interesting idea that would be a sea change in U.S. corporate finance. Here’s a great WSJ chart on how the U.S. has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the developing world, but collects a relatively small share of revenue.


I’m not sure I get how this math works, though:

Headed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, the bipartisan presidential tax-policy panel also is examining the way multinational corporations pay taxes. The group is considering whether to replace the current system, which taxes global income, with one that taxes only profits generated in the U.S. Such a move could provide more revenue for the Treasury by simplifying a system that has provided multinationals multiple ways to navigate transborder tax rules to minimize payments to the government.

Such changes could raise tens of billions of dollars in tax revenue.

Via Felix Salmon.