More than 11 percent of Americans claim Irish heritage, the second largest ancestry group in the country after German. But on St. Patrick’s Day, everyone — as the saying goes — is Irish for the day. For many, that means enjoying Irish music, food, and beer. But the Irish product the U.S. should really be emulating on St. Patrick’s Day and year-round is Ireland’s corporate tax system.
Ireland’s corporate tax rate is 12.5 percent. American companies, which face a 35 percent (!) corporate rate, are increasing their investment in – or even outright moving their headquarters to – Ireland because of its competitive corporate tax rates.
In the video below, St. Lawrence University economics professor Steven Horowitz explains how corporate taxes are not paid by corporations at all but by people. Over 50 years of economic evidence shows that it is average people who actually pay the corporate income tax in the form of higher prices and lower wages.
Ireland is making off with a pot of gold because of its low corporate tax rate. What better time to recognize what Ireland is doing right and try to emulate it than on St. Patrick’s Day?