United States Tax Reform in the 21st Century

by George R. Zodrow, Peter Mieszkowski

Overview

Tax reform debates in the United States have for some time been dominated by the question of whether the existing corporate and individual income tax system should be replaced with some form of a national consumption tax. This book contains essays by a group of internationally recognized tax experts who describe the current state of the art in economic thinking on the issue of whether fundamental tax reform is preferable to continued incremental reform of the existing income tax. The collection covers a wide range of tax policy issues related to consumption tax reforms, including their economic effects, distributional consequences, effects on administrative and compliance costs, transitional issues and the political aspects of fundamental tax reform, and international comparisons.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521803830
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/01/2002
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.83(d)

Table of Contents

1. The fundamental question in fundamental tax reform George R. Zodrow and Peter Mieszkowski; 2. Behavioral responses to a consumption tax Jane G. Gravelle; 3. The economic impact of fundamental tax reform Dale W. Jorgenson and Peter J. Wilcoxen; 4. Capital income taxation in tax reform: implications for analysis of distribution and efficiency R. Glenn Hubbard; 5. International aspects of fundamental tax reform Charles L. Ballard; 6. Distributive analysis of fundamental tax Peter Mieszkowski and Michael G. Palumbo; 7. The role of administrative issues in tax reform: simplicity, compliance, and administration William G. Gale and Janet Holtzblatt; 8. Evaluating NRST from a VAT perspective Sijbren Cnossen; 9. Transitional issues in the implementation of a flat tax or a national retail sales tax George R. Zodrow; 10. Historical and contemporary debate on consumption taxes Malcolm Gillis; 11. The politics and ideology of fundamental tax reform Joe Barnes; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Contributors include some of the best tax economists working today, and they carfully outline the evidence necessary for this choice between tax bases.... Recommended for upper-division undergraduate through professional collections." Choice

"The book serves as a good, balanced guide to the reform debate and an excellent example of questions to consider when analyzing policy...The essays presented in this volume provide insight into the current opinions on incremental and fundamental tax reform. Each essay can stand alone as a tool for analyzing the debate, but overall, the volume provdies a balanced view nad is helpful to all who are involved or interested in tax reform. The essays contain well-organized, understandable narratives with very little math, making it useful as a supplemental reading for all levels of courses as well as for general interest."- Julia M. Brennan, Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts

From the Publisher