Border Tax Adjustment and Corporate Tax Reforms

The Peterson Institute for International Economics held a conference to discuss border tax adjustment and corporate tax reforms on February 1, 2017. Participants analyzed the intersection of tax, international trade, and macroeconomics. Jason Furman, former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under the Obama administration and now senior fellow at the Institute, gave a keynote address on the path toward a less distortionary tax system. Two expert panel discussions focused on US corporate tax in global perspective and a fuller assessment of a border adjustment tax.

Participants for the first panel on US corporate taxes included Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum, on underlying logic for reform (view handout); Gary Clyde Hufbauer, Reginald Jones Senior Fellow at PIIE, on the argument for destination-based taxation; and Adam S. Posen, PIIE president, on fiscal concerns raised by the proposals.

Participants for the second panel on a border adjustment tax included Caroline Freund, PIIE senior fellow, on a border adjustment tax versus a value-added tax; Joseph E. Gagnon, PIIE senior fellow, on the exchange rate impact; Sherman Robinson, PIIE nonresident senior, on the sectoral impact in the United States; and Chad Bown, PIIE senior fellow, on World Trade Organization compatibility and likely international responses.