See New YouTube Video on the $250 Billion Backroom Deal

Washington, D.C., November 20, 2008—The notorious tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) was signed 10 years ago this month by 46 state attorneys general and major tobacco companies. The deal imposed a $250 billion hidden tax on smokers and set up a cartel between the states and Big Tobacco, all without any elected official openly taking responsibility.

A new video by the Competitive Enterprise Institute re-imagines the backroom deal.

CEI is challenging the tobacco…

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D.C. Circuit Denies Rehearing, But 5-to-4 Split Signals Importance of Issue

Washington, D.C., November 19, 2008—On a 5 to 4 split, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit this week declined to review a constitutional challenge to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, together with the law firm of Jones Day, plans to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“While the court’s decision is, of course, disappointing, the 5-4 split among the judges demonstrates…

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Federal Accounting Board Itself Unaccountable

Washington, D.C., April 15, 2008—Today, as Americans scurried to get their tax forms into the IRS, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments about another agency that can impose big fines and reams of paperwork on small businesses. The very structure of this agency makes the IRS look like a model of accountability, the Competitive Enterprise Institute and others argued in court.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 created the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, giving…

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