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The Confederate Constitution, Tariffs, and the Laffer Relationship
Author(s) -
McGuire Robert A.,
Cott T. Norman
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
economic inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1465-7295
pISSN - 0095-2583
DOI - 10.1093/ei/40.3.428
Subject(s) - laffer curve , constitution , tariff , economics , de facto , international economics , public economics , law and economics , political science , tax reform , law , state income tax , gross income
This article offers an example of a national constitution, that of the Confederate States of America, which effectively constrained its fiscal authorities to tax rates on the lower end of the Laffer relationship. The taxes were Confederate import tariffs. Drawing on primary sources, the paper documents the role that this de facto capping of tariff rates played in the history of the drafting of the Confederate Constitution. That the Laffer relationship found constitutional expression for an important tax suggests that the “tariff” might have played a more significant role in the North–South conflict than is currently acknowledged.