September 25, 2015 3:39PM 

# TTIP Could Rein in the Abuse of Tax Incentives to Attract Foreign Investment 

By [Daniel J. Ikenson](https://www.cato.org/people/daniel-j-ikenson) 

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I’ve written often about the global [competition to attract foreign investment](https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/reversing-worrisome-trends-how-attract-retain-investment-competitive), and have made the point that investment flows to jurisdictions with good policies in place. Globalization of production and the mobility of capital mean that national policies (regulations, tax policy, immigration, trade, energy, education, etc.) are on trial, with net investment inflows rendering the verdicts.

But some countries (and some U.S. states) use tax holidays and other forms of tax forgiveness, in lieu of adopting good policies, to attract investment, which burdens taxpayers and subverts the process of matching investment to its optimal location. These are subsidies — like so many other programs — that distort markets and should be discouraged.

In today’s [Cato Online Forum](https://www.cato.org/economics-geopolitics-architecture-ttip-cato-online-forum) essay, which is associated with the [TTIP conference](https://www.cato.org/events/will-transatlantic-trade-investment-partnership-live-its-promise) taking place on October 12, Ted Alden from the Council on Foreign Relations [puts forward a strong proposal](https://www.cato.org/publications/cato-online-forum/ttip-tax-incentives) to end this madness via the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations.

Read it. Provide feedback. And please [register](https://www.cato.org/events/will-transatlantic-trade-investment-partnership-live-its-promise) to attend the conference.

##### Related Tags 

[Trade Policy](https://www.cato.org/trade-policy), [Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies](https://www.cato.org/herbert-stiefel-center-trade-policy-studies) 

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