There you go again

Daniel Mitchell's attack on the 30-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) ("Using tax money to push more taxes," Commentary, Wednesday) brought to mind Ronald Reagan's classic line from the 1980 presidential debates: "There you go again." These tired arguments have been trotted out periodically by OECD-bashers. Repeating them a thousand times does not make them true. The fact is that the OECD does not advocate higher taxes.

I know because my organization represents the views of the U.S. business community, hardly a proponent of higher taxes, to the OECD. We recently called upon Congress and the Bush administration to fully fund the OECD in the current budgetary cycle.

Simply put, the OECD plays a vital role for both the public and private sectors as a key source of objective and relevant economic data and analysis. It offers policy guidance for the identification and elimination of regulatory and other obstacles to improved economic competitiveness.

It has issued authoritative guidelines in such areas as corporate governance, and, yes, international taxation, including recommendations to rein in overseas bank secrecy, which provides cover for criminals and terrorists. (The latter has been misrepresented repeatedly by critics such as Mr. Mitchell as an attack on low-tax jurisdictions.)

Moreover, the OECD has provided a unique forum for the negotiation of international agreements to curtail bribery and corruption and is playing an important role in raising public awareness of the costs and risks of product counterfeiting and piracy. Its outreach work to nonmember countries, particularly China, offers an unparalleled opportunity to convey sound policy advice to emerging economies.

In short, the OECD is a valuable international institution meriting full support by the U.S. government and the American business community.

TIMOTHY E. DEAL

Senior vice president

United States Council for

International Business

Mr. Deal’s bio

OECD website

Washington Times website