Tales from the Motor City [sort of...] Pt. III

Today, I decided to blog from 30,000 feet above the Motor City.

Yes, yes, the conference is over and I'm in the air, flying back to New York City. It is very comforting to be going back home even though Detroit, Ann Arbor and Michigan were terribly interesting. [I refer to them as though they were three distinct places. There not.] This flight is packed - partially due to a cancellation or a postponement of the flight to a later time for some unexplained reason. I may have to reconsider my thoughts on Spirit Air…hummph! So, rather that arriving in New York before dusk, I shall have to steal into the city like a thief in the night. Not that I have any problem with that in any way shape or form whatsoever!

The last day of the conference continued much like the earlier parts of it. Lively discussion, interesting presentations, some humor and lots of ideas [real and imaginary]. I had to leave a few minutes before the closing remarks in order to catch a free ride to the airport. I left right after the former Justice Minister of Japan made his presentation in stuttering English fit only for the truly discerning! I thought the whole conference was great though, generally and in many subtle ways.

I can say that tax policy in relation to developing countries produced more questions than answers. This is characteristic of any sincere query regarding the issues that affect development in any real sense. Invariably, there are many alternatives before these "Left-behind" nations. Many scholars - from the West and the Rest - have as many theories to help drag the Third World out of the quagmire that it finds itself. As tax practitioners, our inquiry has been to see if there are ways in which tax can fulfill the optimal fiscal growth of this bloc of countries. All in all, it is inevitable that, as a developing country, your fate lies in your hands. There is very little that the West knows about the true issues of development. The Third World does not operate with the panache, finesse and regularity that the West finds as commonplace. The laws of economics produce irrational results in these tangentially different market systems. The fate of a developing country is dire, but its recovery is certainly possible.

I am really glad I got out of my usual triangular regime to come to Detroit. I am very glad I met the extremely nice OECD guys and the tax scholars that care enough about development to attempt to do something about it - however futile their attempts might be. It may take a couple of generations to get things going. By then, the rest of the world may be in another age. The road is uphill. The wind is averse. But perhaps, hope is not totally absent.

And so, now that I have totally exhausted myself with my dramatic plane-catching on Friday coupled with a whirlwind weekend, I think it's time I sat back and enjoyed this flight. The rigor of Laurie, John and Rosenbloom still await me in Corporate tax, International Tax and Transfer Pricing. No. I shall try not to think about them for the 75minutes that this flight lasts. I doubt that that is possible. Yet, it won't stop me from trying….