Harvard economist David M. Cutler jumps on the sugar-tax boat this morning in an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal. Arguing that the Obama health-care reform program is worth salvaging because it will help flatten the medical inflation curve, he nevertheless faults the proposals for lack of nutrition-sin taxes. The program “provides new incentives for physicians to focus on preventive and chronic care and opens Medicare to finding new ways of supporting prevention,” he writes. “The only area of weakness is the lack of a junk-food tax or a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. Grade: Partial credit.” more

The excitement of the Oscars may be over for another year, but thanks to Florida lawmakers, the movie biz is lingering on in the limelight today. Rep. Stephen Precourt is in the hurt locker over a bill that offers a $75 million tax incentive package for companies that produce “family-friendly” movies but denies the tax break for movies that portray “nontraditional family values” . . . which could mean films that show families headed by gays, critics point out. more

Corporate tax solutions provider Vertex has been tracking the U.S. average sales tax rate since 1982. Last year, the average hit a new record — 5.468 percent — according to the firm’s latest report, published this week.

Seven states increased their standard rate in 2009 (also a record).

More worrying, perhaps, for the companies that have to collect and remit these funds, is the fact that tax authorities are levying more and more new sales and use taxes, and they’re changing the ones they’ve already established more frequently. more

Would you rat on your company to the IRS for a share of the proceeds?

Many would, apparently. more

A reader of my recent blog about the Obama Administration’s international tax proposals sounded a note of exasperation that’s becoming increasingly familiar when corporate tax pros discuss the issue: “Why NOT bring in money from other countries? What’s wrong with putting a McDonald’s in India? It brings money into the organization as a whole, which means they can pay higher salaries,” argued Ralph Comstock.

Sound points, and Ralph might have added that there’s precious little evidence that the President’s proposals will do what they’re intended to do, i.e., increase employment in the United States by curtailing activity in lower-tax jurisdictions abroad.

The day after my post, the Tax Foundation released a report arguing that the Administration’s program will backfire by undermining the competitiveness of U.S. companies, and that it’s taking the U.S. in exactly the opposite direction of most tax authorities around the world. more