Welcome to The Exempt Class
The Exempt Class is a regular newsletter about the loopholes and provisions in the tax code that distort our economy and unfairly benefit special interests.
If you are looking for nerdy supply and demand curves, you will be disappointed. I always aim to make The Exempt Class accessible to all readers through short vignettes, stories, simple graphics and explainers.
The Exempt Class is free to all because…well…why should you have to pay to learn about the unfair loopholes in the tax code? You’re already paying taxes to subsidize those guys.
Perhaps the most sacred of sacred cows in the tax code is the $3.6 trillion tax-exempt nonprofit sector. I’ll be taking particular aim at the mega businesses that masquerade as charities, such as nonprofit hospitals, universities, sports leagues, health insurers, golf clubs, investment firms, business leagues, and utilities.
No loophole will be spared because the future of our free-enterprise system and our nation’s fiscal finances depends on holding the exempt class accountable.
Who Am I?
I’m Scott Hodge. I’ve spent a career in public policy encouraging people to look at the workings of government in a way that reflects my belief in free-enterprise and individual liberty. I spent more than two decades as president and CEO of the Tax Foundation, one of the most respected and influential think tanks in Washington, DC. I am now president emeritus of the Tax Foundation and a tax and fiscal policy fellow at the philanthropy Arnold Ventures.
There is a bit of irony in The Exempt Class. I’ve spent my entire career working in nonprofit think tanks and ran one for 22 years. Yet I’m willing to challenge the industry I grew up in because I think it needs reform.
Also, I consider myself a libertarian and am no fan of taxes. In fact, I wrote a book on the unintended consequences of bad tax policy. But if we are going to have a tax code, it should treat everyone equally and not favor some and punish others. That is the core philosophy of The Exempt Class.
If these issues spark your interest to learn more, I encourage you to read my best-selling book, Taxocracy: What You Don’t Know About Taxes and How They Rule Your Daily Life, available on Amazon. Find it here:
When I’m not writing about the unintended consequences of bad tax policy I frequently spend weekends at the racetrack getting my speed fix in my 2008 BMW M3. That’s me in the photo below at Summit Point Motorsports Park in West Virgina. This is not door-to-door racing, but what we call HPDE, or High-Performance Driver Education. I am now a certified instructor teaching fellow enthusiasts about driving fast, but safely, on a racetrack. It’s a blast. Come join me some weekend.
