This is a slightly revised version of a lunch talk that the author gave at the National Tax Association's 46th Annual Spring Symposium on May 12. It addresses, among other topics, why there is so little consensus regarding international tax policy, and what lessons we learn from the recent wave...

Debate about U.S. international tax policy often emphasizes norms, such as capital export neutrality (CEN) and capital import neutrality (CIN), that relate to worldwide welfare rather than U.S. national welfare. While this focus may seem paradoxical, or at least surprisingly altruistic in a...