Politicians may not like it, but the countries they misgovern compete with one another for businesses, people, and capital. To attract startups, entrepreneurs, and investors, governments have to offer attractive environments, or else lose out to friendlier nations. When it comes to tax competitiveness, a new report says that Estonia leads the way in first position, with the United States lagging at 17th.

Low Rates and Simplicity Make Countries More Attractive

"The structure of a country's tax code is a determining factor of its economic performance," write Alex Mengden and Luis Zarka for the Tax Foundation's International Tax Competitiveness Index 2026. "A well-structured tax code is easy for taxpayers to comply with and can promote economic development while raising sufficient revenue for a government's priorities. In contrast, poorly structured tax systems can be costly, distort economic decision-making, and harm domestic economies."

The report notes that competition among countries has resulted in widespread improvements (and some backsliding) across the world in recent years. Especially among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), marginal tax rates on corporate and individual income have declined. That said, most governments haven't given up on milking their populations, with growing reliance on payroll taxes and value-added taxes (VAT).

On the other hand, while "corporate tax base improvements have occurred in Canada, Germany, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, and the United States," France, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia have hiked corporate tax rates. Even worse, tax policy has moved in many countries from a revenue-raising measure into a weapon of economic warfare "deployed to exert economic pressure."

The Tax Foundation's index ranks countries on the degree to which they keep their tax systems competitive—with low rates—and neutral, with minimal social engineering to avoid economic distortions.

Estonia Is First, France Last, With the U.S. in the Middle

According to these criteria, Estonia scores in first place for the best tax code in the OECD for the 13th straight year. According to Mengden and Zarka, the tiny Baltic state earns this distinction for four reasons:

First, it has a 22 percent tax rate on corporate income that is only applied to distributed profits. Second, it has a flat 22 percent tax on individual income that does not apply to personal dividend income. Third, its property tax applies only to the value of land, rather than to the value of real property or capital. Finally, it has a territorial tax system that exempts 100 percent of foreign profits earned by domestic corporations from domestic taxation, with few restrictions.

By contrast, France comes in dead last with the highest top corporate tax rate (36.1 percent) in the OECD, on top of which are "multiple surtaxes and distortive production taxes." France "also applies multiple distortionary property taxes with separate levies on estates, bank assets, and financial transactions, in addition to a wealth tax on real estate. Its VAT covers about 50 percent of final consumption, and it has one of the highest VAT registration thresholds."

The United States ranks at 17, down one place from last year. Among the U.S.'s weaknesses is that its "real property tax burden is among the highest in the OECD" and "the US has a partial territorial system and does not exempt foreign capital gains income." On the plus side, Americans pay relatively low sales/consumption taxes (an average of 7.5 percent, while the OECD average is 19.4 percent).

Not discussed in depth in the index, but still important, is that the U.S. is one of two countries (along with Eritrea) that base income taxation on citizenship rather than residency. "A Canadian living in France pays French taxes, not Canadian ones. An American in France? They pay French taxes and still file with the IRS," notes Bright!Tax. The U.S. tax obligation can be offset for nonresidents, but only by jumping through more bureaucratic hoops.

By and large, countries score better on the index by keeping tax rates low and broadly applied, emphasizing simplicity, and keeping their systems neutral to raise revenue and encourage investment, rather than achieve social and political goals.

Not everybody shares the Tax Foundation's preference for low burdens and minimal complexity. In its 2022 report on Lithuania's tax system (ranked a commendable 5th by the International Tax Competitiveness Index 2026), the OECD urged the country to increase taxes on businesses and self-employed people, and to increase reporting requirements. The OECD apparently favors higher tax burdens and complexity. Keeping the OECD happy would undoubtedly make Lithuania (or any country) less attractive to investors and entrepreneurs.

The U.S. Scores Better on Overall Economic Freedom—Though It's Losing Ground

While the index's middling score for the U.S. on tax competitiveness is disappointing, if understandable, it's not the final word on a country's economic attractiveness. In the Fraser Institute's recently published Economic Freedom of the World 2026 report, the U.S. ranks a credible 5th place, based on 2024 data. It comes in after Hong Kong, Switzerland, Singapore, and New Zealand. The formerly British and now Chinese territory of Hong Kong remained in the leading position despite erosion in economic liberty to accompany its sadly decaying civil liberties status. That's a worldwide concern.

"Global economic freedom fell following the pandemic as policymakers imposed new regulations, raised barriers to trade, expanded the size of government, and then printed money to pay for spending," wrote the Fraser Institute authors, including the late James Gwartney. "While governments have begun to reverse these policies, economic freedom in the average country has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels."

Unfortunately, the U.S. is forecast to slide two positions in next year's Economic Freedom report because of "increases in the size of government, weaker protection of property rights and the rule of law, and significant restrictions on trade freedom."

Improving the U.S. tax environment might help to improve America's economic freedom score. Then again, so would reducing government's role and discontinuing protectionist policies.

Tax competitiveness is one important element of any country's overall economic freedom, which creates an attractive environment to invest, create businesses, and generate prosperity. The U.S. has long thrived because it is, in relative terms, free. That's a status worth maintaining.

The post The U.S. Tax System Gets a Middling Score appeared first on Reason Magazine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s advisor Nikolai Patrushev’s recent visit to China points to something more consequential than another round of Russia-China strategic rhetoric: Moscow is trying to turn maritime cooperation with Beijing into infrastructure, technology and logistics that can survive geopolitical pressure. The proposals discussed during the October 8-13 visit — linking China’s Maritime Silk […]

The post China, Russia quietly moving toward a new Arctic axis appeared first on Asia Times.

Ukraine’s amphibious ground robot UNEX UGV can tow artillery guns, its project lead said in a video interview, Militarnyi reported on 13 October. The electric platform from ABRIS Design Group (ABRIS DG) also swims, climbs, and hauls cargo on its own deck.

The Defense Ministry’s robot tally, kept in its DELTA system, counts supply and evacuation runs. It logged 25,143 of them in August, a monthly figure that has climbed all year. In April, then-Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said the goal was for robots to handle all frontline logistics. A robot that brings a gun and its shells to a position adds artillery moves to that workload.

A gun behind, shells aboard

The robot can pull a gun or another wheeled vehicle of up to 10 metric tons (about 22,000 lb), the project lead said. Ammunition can ride aboard, so the gun and its rounds reach the position together. No crew has to go with them, he said, and the team has already demonstrated the setup. On its own deck, ABRIS DG says, the robot carries up to 1.7 tons (3,750 lb) on land and 1.25 tons (2,760 lb) on water.

ABRIS DG said US Army testers ran UNEX through scenarios that included towing Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs), which are armored US military trucks. The trials took place at the Army’s XTech competition in Vilseck, Germany, in March 2026. UNEX was picked as one of five winners, the company said.

Swims, climbs, backtracks

The robot can float for more than an hour. The team has already crossed the Desna River and narrow stretches of the Dnipro with it, the project lead said. Ultra-low-pressure tires spread its weight over soft ground and swamps. ABRIS DG says it climbs obstacles up to one meter (3.3 ft) high and drives out of water onto ice.

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Operators steer it via Starlink or radio. An escort drone can add an overhead view to the robot’s own cameras. If the link drops, the robot retraces its route to where the signal last held.

It runs on a Ukrainian-made 78 kWh battery. The project lead puts its work time at up to six hours and its range at up to 120 km (75 miles), with a top speed of 20 km/h (12 mph). Load and terrain cut into those figures, he added. With a generator now in development, a mission should stretch to about 12–14 hours, he said.

The robot is not built for the zero line, the project lead said. It works 20–30 km behind the front, at night, where armor would add little. Developers also plan demining and air defense versions. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry codified the robot and cleared it for use in its forces in April 2025.

Google has asked the European Union’s General Court to suspend an order requiring it to make search data available to competing search engines and artificial-intelligence services while its wider legal challenge proceeds.

The application for interim measures follows Google’s challenge to a European Commission decision adopted in July under the Digital Markets Act. The company argues that implementation before the court rules on the main case could cause serious harm to the privacy of European users.

The Commission maintains that its requirements already contain safeguards for privacy, security and personal data.

At the centre of the dispute is Article 6(11) of the Digital Markets Act, which requires Google to give eligible rival search services access to anonymised ranking, query, click and viewing data on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.

The Commission opened specification proceedings in January and adopted binding measures on 16 July.

The rules explicitly allow AI chatbots offering search functions to qualify for access.

Brussels argues that Google has accumulated a quantity of search information which competitors cannot readily reproduce. User queries and interactions can improve search algorithms, reinforcing the position of an established provider and creating a substantial entry barrier for newcomers.

EU Today examined the issue in April, when the Commission first set out its proposed Google search-data sharing measures.

The final July decision turned those proposals into binding requirements.

The inclusion of AI services gives the case wider significance. Generative AI products increasingly answer questions directly rather than sending users through a conventional list of search results. That is putting AI developers and traditional search engines into increasingly direct competition.

The Commission’s data-access framework is intended to reduce the advantage obtained from data accumulated by designated gatekeepers and make it easier for competing services to enter the market.

Access will not be unrestricted.

Applicants must operate a genuine online search service in the EU and satisfy eligibility requirements. Established applicants generally need at least 50,000 average monthly EU users during the previous year, while newer companies can qualify under investment criteria.

They must also comply with security and data-protection requirements and undergo independent auditing. The Commission can exclude applicants presenting public-security risks, while the data must be processed within the European Economic Area or under arrangements providing equivalent protection.

Google argues that these safeguards do not remove the underlying privacy risk.

The company has therefore asked the General Court for an interim suspension while judges consider the legality of the Commission’s decision.

The case adds another front to an increasingly difficult relationship between Google and Brussels.

In July, the Commission imposed two Digital Markets Act fines on Google totalling €890 million. As EU Today reported following the penalties, one case concerned Google’s treatment of its own services in search results while another dealt with restrictions preventing app developers from directing users towards alternative offers.

The dispute subsequently developed into a wider transatlantic issue when President Donald Trump threatened a Section 301 trade investigation in response to the EU penalties, a development examined by EU Today.

Google has meanwhile begun altering some of its European services in response to regulatory pressure. Earlier this month it changed the presentation of European search results, while warning that the new format could make searches less useful.

The present case is different because it deals with access to the underlying information generated by searches rather than only the way results are displayed.

The Commission wants qualifying competitors to obtain data that could help them improve their own services. Google says opening those datasets creates privacy and security risks which cannot simply be reversed if it eventually wins the court case.

That is why the interim application is important.

Google is not asking the court merely to overturn the Commission decision at the end of the litigation. It wants implementation halted before the full case is resolved.

Unless judges intervene, the Commission timetable continues.

The wider dispute will determine how far Brussels can require a dominant digital platform to share data accumulated through its own users in order to encourage competition — an issue that is becoming increasingly important as search and generative AI converge.

At a conformation show, purebred dogs are evaluated by judges according to written documents that strive to capture the exemplary features of each breed. (These standards are searchable via the American Kennel Club; my dog’s breed standard, for instance, is “interested and even mischievous” in expression, but might be faulted for a “short, prancing, or choppy gait.” Noted.) Hannah Berger files a remarkably observed dispatch from one such show in Virginia, where she has traveled to consider show dogs as signifiers, “the ideal against its approximation.” There’s plenty of human folly here, not limited to the interpretation of a “breed standard” and its pursuit over time. A janitor ceaselessly sweeps away dog hair; a mother silences her child as one might a yapping pet. Berger layers her observations into an ending so clever that I gasped.

Now under the jurisdiction of the American Kennel Club in the U.S., conformation shows measure the degree to which a dog “conforms” to its “breed standard,” a document that transmutes historical function into superficially measurable and marketable qualities: proportions, attitude, gaiting patterns. These documents vary widely in length and style. The greyhound’s standard, for example, is a spare two-hundred-word document that strays from sobriety just once in its description of the eyes: “dark, bright, intelligent, indicating spirit.” The standard of the Coton de Tulear, the bichon-like “national dog” of Madagascar, is nearly eight times as long, describing colors and shapes in percentages and angles. Its “joie de vivre” is mentioned twice.