Should the rich bear the brunt of the tax burden, or should it be shared proportionately among the population? This issue has dominated recent public debates over the tax system, and is a controversial issue among economists. This book contains nine essays by economists on tax progressivity--how the tax burden is borne across income classes--and how the tax system affects the inequality of income. It presents the basic facts about how tax progressivity in the U.S. has changed in the 1980s, and assesses its role in exacerbating or offsetting the overall trend toward increased income...

This volume collects articles from the Symposium series of the National Tax Journal from 1993 to 1998. Leading economists and other scholars discuss and debate current tax policy issues in nontechnical language and illustrate how the principles of tax analysis can be applied to real-world issues. Among the topics addressed are the practical feasibility of consumption tax alternatives to the current income tax, the rationale and implications of devolution of fiscal responsibilities to state and local governments, the effect of tax policy on economic growth, and the value of local tax...

This book was first published in 2007. Most countries levy taxes on corporations, but the impact - and therefore the wisdom - of such taxes is highly controversial among economists. Does the burden of these taxes fall on wealthy shareowners, or is it passed along to those who work for, or buy the products of, corporations? Can a country with high corporate taxes remain competitive in the global economy? This book features research by leading economists and accountants that sheds light on these and related questions, including how taxes affect corporate dividend policy, stock market value,...

Voluntary tax compliance and the mechanisms to catch the noncompliant are under stress as tax laws have become more complicated and IRS resources have not kept pace. These events in combination have created a genuine crisis in tax administration. The papers in this volume, prepared by economists, lawyers and accountants, evaluate the capacity of authorities to enforce the tax laws in a modern, global economy and examine the implications of failing to do so.

This volume collects articles from the Symposium series of the National Tax Journal from 1993 to 1998. Leading economists and other scholars discuss and debate current tax policy issues in nontechnical language and illustrate how the principles of tax analysis can be applied to real-world issues. Among the topics addressed are the practical feasibility of consumption tax alternatives to the current income tax, the rationale and implications of devolution of fiscal responsibilities to state and local governments, the effect of tax policy on economic growth, and the value of local tax...

This volume presents state-of-the-art empirical and conceptual research on the taxation of multinational corporations. Topics include: rules for the allocation of interest expense between domestic (U.S.) and foreign-source income; compliance with the foreign tax provision of the U.S. tax code; an international comparison of the average effective rates of corporate taxation of multinationals; the effect of taxation on foreign direct investment; and international tax policy reviewed in parallel with the theory of international trade. This book will be of interest to public finance economists,...