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The Brain Drain: A Tax Analysis Of The Bhagwati Proposal, Richard Pomp

Faculty Articles and Papers

For many years, less developed countries (LDCs) have experienced an emigration of their skilled workers to developed countries (DCs), a phenomenon known as the “brain drain”. In response to this issue, Professor Jagdish Bhagwati has proposed a tax on the earnings of professionals, technicians, and kindred persons (PTKs) who emigrate to DCs. This chapter discusses Bhagwati’s proposal, and some alternative proposals. Part 1 explains the “brain drain” problem. Part 2 examines the three main approaches of taxing emigrant PTKs, discusses jurisdictional issues, relief from double taxation, and administrative concerns that arise from these approaches. This section further analyzes Bhagwati’s proposal …