Download or read book Taxing Ourselves fifth edition written by Joel Slemrod and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2017-06-02 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The new edition of a popular guide to the key issues in tax reform, presented in a clear, nontechnical, and unbiased way. To follow the debate over tax reform, the interested citizen is often forced to choose between misleading sound bites and academic treatises. Taxing Ourselves bridges the gap between the oversimplified and the arcane, presenting the key issues clearly and without a political agenda. Tax policy experts Joel Slemrod and Jon Bakija lay out in accessible language what is known and not known about how taxes affect the economy and offer guidelines for evaluating tax systems—both the current tax system and proposals to reform it. This fifth edition has been extensively revised to incorporate the latest data, empirical evidence, and tax law. It offers new material on recent tax reform proposals, expanded coverage of international tax issues, and the latest enforcement initiatives. Offering historical perspectives, outlining the basic criteria by which tax policy should be judged (fairness, economic impact, enforceability), examining proposals for both radical change (replacement of the income tax with a flat tax or consumption tax) and incremental changes to the current system, and concluding with a voter's guide, the book provides readers with enough background to make informed judgments about how we should tax ourselves. Praise for earlier editions “An excellent book.” —Jeff Medrick, New York Times “A fair-minded exposition of a politically loaded subject.” —Kirkus Reviews

Download or read book Taxing Ourselves fourth edition written by Joel Slemrod and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2008-02-08 with total page 397 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fourth edition of a popular guide to the key issues in tax reform, discussing the current system and alternative proposals clearly and without a political agenda. As Albert Einstein may or may not have said, "The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax." Indeed, to follow the debate over tax reform, the interested citizen is forced to choose between misleading sound bites and academic treatises. Taxing Ourselves bridges the gap between the two by discussing the key issues clearly and without a political agenda: Should the federal income tax be replaced with a flat tax or sales tax? Should it be left in place and reformed? Can tax cuts stimulate the economy, or will higher deficits undermine any economic benefit? Authors and tax policy experts Joel Slemrod and Jon Bakija lay out in accessible language what is known and not known about how taxes affect the economy, offer guidelines for evaluating tax systems, and provide enough information to assess both the current income tax system and the leading proposals to reform or replace it (including the flat tax and the consumption tax). The fourth edition of this popular guide has been extensively revised to incorporate the latest information, covering such recent developments as the Bush administration's tax cuts (which expire in 2011) and the alternatives proposed by the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform. Slemrod and Bakija provide us with the knowledge and the tools—including an invaluable voter's guide to the tax policy debate—to make our own informed choices about how we should tax ourselves.

Download or read book Taxing Ourselves written by Joel Slemrod and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Tax Progressivity and Income Inequality written by Joel Slemrod and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1996-10-13 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book assembles nine papers on tax progressivity and its relationship to income inequality, written by leading public finance economists. The papers document the changes during the 1980s in progressivity at the federal, state, and local level in the US. One chapter investigates the extent to which the declining progressivity contributed to the well-documented increase in income inequality over the past two decades, while others investigate the economic impact and cost of progressive tax systems. Special attention is given to the behavioral response to taxation of high-income individuals, portfolio behavior, and the taxation of capital gains. The concluding set of essays addresses the contentious issue of what constitutes a 'fair' tax system, contrasting public attitudes towards alternative tax systems to economists' notions of fairness. Each essay is followed by remarks of a commentator plus a summary of the discussion among contributors.

Download or read book Rethinking Estate and Gift Taxation written by William G. Gale and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2011-07-01 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although estate and gift taxes raise a small fraction of federal revenues, they have become sources of increasing political controversy. This book is designed to inform the current policy debate and build a conceptual basis for future scholarship. The book contains eleven original studies of estate and gift taxes, along with discussants' comments. The essays provide background and historical information; analyze the optimal taxation of estates and gifts; examine the effects of the tax on charitable contributions, saving behavior, the distribution and level of wealth, tax avoidance and tax evasion; and explore the effects of alternatives to estate taxation.

Download or read book Federal Income Taxation written by Richard Schmalbeck and published by Aspen Publishing. This book was released on 2018-08-08 with total page 1480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unique in its structure, Federal Income Taxation, Fifth Edition presents core materials that cover the basics of tax law and then offers supplemental "cells" at the end of the book that are self-contained units with more in-depth discussion of certain topics. Professors and students will benefit from: A thoroughly updated text that incorporates the extensive changes to the Code enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 New cases reflecting developments since the previous edition. A new cell on the taxation of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency. Core text (about 500 pages) that covers the leading cases and explains the substantive tax law that is essential to a basic understanding of federal income tax law and principles. Novel "Cells," self-contained, optional units at the end of the book that supplement the core text by presenting additional material and treating a limited number of topics in greater detail. Notes and questions providing background information and placing the cases and statutes in context. More than 150 problems throughout the core text and cells that challenge students to apply theory to specific situations. An annual "inflation supplement" issued every December that provides updated problems and answers to reflect inflation adjustments for the upcoming year, as well as updated tables where relevant.

Download or read book Taxes in America written by Leonard E. Burman and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-01-08 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arguments about taxation are among the most heated- no other topic is as influential to the role of government and the distribution of costs and benefits in America. But while understanding of our tax system is of vital importance, the complexity can create confusion. Two of America's leading authorities on taxes, Leonard E. Burman and Joel Slemrod, bring clarity in this concise explanation of how our tax system works, how it affects people and businesses, and how it might be improved. The book explores what makes a tax system fair, simple, and efficient, why our system falls short, and whether the new tax law promises much, if any, improvement. Accessibly written and organized in a clear, question-and-answer format, the book describes the intricacies of the modern tax system in an easy-to-grasp manner. It has been revised and updated to both explain the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in 2017, the most comprehensive reform of its income tax system since 1986, and to examine its likely effects on individuals, businesses, and society. Among the questions discussed are: How much more tax could the IRS collect with better enforcement? How do tax burdens vary around the world? Why do corporations pay so little tax, even though they earn trillions of dollars every year? What kind of tax system is most conducive to economic growth? And, can taxes be fair?

Download or read book Does Atlas Shrug written by Joel Slemrod and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 540 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the introduction of the income tax in 1913, controversy has raged about how heavily to tax the rich. Opponents of high tax rates claim that heavy assessments have negative incentives on the productivity of some of our most talented citizens; supporters stress the importance of the rich shouldering their "fair share," and decry the loopholes that permit many to escape their obligations. Notably absent from this debate is hard evidence about the actual impact of taxes on the behavior of the affluent. This book presents evidence by leading economists of the effects of taxes on the formation of businesses, the supply of labor, the form of executive compensation, the accumulation of wealth, the allocation of portfolios, and the realization of capital gains. Among its findings are that the labor supply of the rich remained unchanged in the face of large tax cuts in 1986, and that in late 1992 executives exercised billions of dollars' worth of stock options in order to beat the tax increases expected in 1993. The book also presents a history of efforts to tax the rich, a demographic snapshot of the financially affluent, and a road map to widely used tax-avoidance strategies. Does Atlas Shrug? will be of great interest to policymakers and interested citizens who want to know how much tax revenue could really be gained by increasing tax rates on the rich, or whether low capital gains tax rates really spur economic growth.

Download or read book How Big Should Our Government Be written by Jon Bakija and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2016-06-21 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The size of government is arguably the most controversial discussion in United States politics, and this issue won't fade from prominence any time soon. There must surely be a tipping point beyond which more government taxing and spending harms the economy, but where is that point? In this accessible book, best-selling authors Jeff Madrick, Jon Bakija, Lane Kenworthy, and Peter Lindert try to answer whether our government can grow any larger and examine how we can optimize growth and fair distribution.

Download or read book Behavioral Public Finance written by Edward J. McCaffery and published by Russell Sage Foundation. This book was released on 2006-01-23 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Behavioral economics questions the basic underpinnings of economic theory, showing that people often do not act consistently in their own self-interest when making economic decisions. While these findings have important theoretical implications, they also provide a new lens for examining public policies, such as taxation, public spending, and the provision of adequate pensions. How can people be encouraged to save adequately for retirement when evidence shows that they tend to spend their money as soon as they can? Would closer monitoring of income tax returns lead to more honest taxpayers or a more distrustful, uncooperative citizenry? Behavioral Public Finance, edited by Edward McCaffery and Joel Slemrod, applies the principles of behavioral economics to government's role in constructing economic and social policies of these kinds and suggests that programs crafted with rational participants in mind may require redesign. Behavioral Public Finance looks at several facets of economic life and asks how behavioral research can increase public welfare. Deborah A. Small, George Loewenstein, and Jeff Strnad note that public support for a tax often depends not only on who bears its burdens, but also on how the tax is framed. For example, people tend to prefer corporate taxes over sales taxes, even though the cost of both is eventually extracted from the consumer. James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian, and Andrew Metrick assess the impact of several different features of 401(k) plans on employee savings behavior. They find that when employees are automatically enrolled in a retirement savings plan, they overwhelmingly accept the status quo and continue participating, while employees without automatic enrollment typically take over a year to join the saving plan. Behavioral Public Finance also looks at taxpayer compliance. While the classic economic model suggests that the low rate of IRS audits means far fewer people should voluntarily pay their taxes than actually do, John Cullis, Philip Jones, and Alan Lewis present new research showing that many people do not underreport their incomes even when the probability of getting caught is a mere one percent. Human beings are not always rational, utility-maximizing economic agents. Behavioral economics has shown how human behavior departs from the assumptions made by generations of economists. Now, Behavioral Public Finance brings the insights of behavioral economics to analysis of policies that affect us all.

Download or read book Taxing Ourselves written by Joel Slemrod and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The third edition of a popular guide to the key issuesin tax reform, providing detailed discussion of the current systemand alternative proposals, an overview of principles that shouldgovern tax policy, and a voter's guide to the tax policy debate.

Download or read book Rethinking Competitiveness written by Kevin A. Hassett and published by AEI Press. This book was released on 2012-12-19 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is composed of nine prominent scholars' interpretations of and answers to the question: “If ‘competitiveness’ were to have a rigorous and relevant meaning in your field, what might that be?”

Download or read book Why Nonprofits Fail written by Stephen R. Block and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2004-07-29 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Why Nonprofits Fail, author and nonprofit expert StephenBlock explains that many well-intentioned leaders hold on to viewsof their nonprofit organizations that perpetuate problems ratherthan help fix them. According to Block, the first step to successis to challenge one's own personal paradigms and ideas and be opento unique and alternative approaches to solving problems. Thismuch-needed book helps nonprofits get back on track and offersadvice about the seven most common stumbling blocks, including: Founder's syndrome Fundphobia Financial misfortune Recruitment disorientation Cultural depression in nonprofit organizations Self-serving political performance Role confusion between the board and executive director

Download or read book Mergers Acquisitions and Other Restructuring Activities written by Donald DePamphilis and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2011-08-22 with total page 784 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two strengths distinguish this textbook from others. One is its presentation of subjects in the contexts wherein they occur. The other is its use of current events. Other improvements have shortened and simplified chapters, increased the numbers and types of pedagogical supplements, and expanded the international appeal of examples.

Download or read book Rebellion Rascals and Revenue written by Michael Keen and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-04-06 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An engaging and enlightening account of taxation told through lively, dramatic, and sometimes ludicrous stories drawn from around the world and across the ages Governments have always struggled to tax in ways that are effective and tolerably fair. Sometimes they fail grotesquely, as when, in 1898, the British ignited a rebellion in Sierra Leone by imposing a tax on huts—and, in repressing it, ended up burning the very huts they intended to tax. Sometimes they succeed astonishingly, as when, in eighteenth-century Britain, a cut in the tax on tea massively increased revenue. In this entertaining book, two leading authorities on taxation, Michael Keen and Joel Slemrod, provide a fascinating and informative tour through these and many other episodes in tax history, both preposterous and dramatic—from the plundering described by Herodotus and an Incan tax payable in lice to the (misremembered) Boston Tea Party and the scandals of the Panama Papers. Along the way, readers meet a colorful cast of tax rascals, and even a few tax heroes. While it is hard to fathom the inspiration behind such taxes as one on ships that tended to make them sink, Keen and Slemrod show that yesterday’s tax systems have more in common with ours than we may think. Georgian England’s window tax now seems quaint, but was an ingenious way of judging wealth unobtrusively. And Tsar Peter the Great’s tax on beards aimed to induce the nobility to shave, much like today’s carbon taxes aim to slow global warming. Rebellion, Rascals, and Revenue is a surprising and one-of-a-kind account of how history illuminates the perennial challenges and timeless principles of taxation—and how the past holds clues to solving the tax problems of today.

Download or read book Actually It s Not Easy written by Nicholas Cohen and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2018-04-05 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fake news. Alternative facts. Ideological agendas. How do you tell the difference between true and false? How do you know what it all means? In Actually, ItÕs Not Easy, novices and experts alike can grow their ability to understand complex topics in todayÕs world. A consistent, analytical approach results in an understandable context useful for solving problems. Timely subjects like health reform and tax policy blend with voyages into probability theory and the history of totalitarian coups. These topics, perhaps arcane at the start, achieve clarity and consequence on their way to an often-surprising thesis. Only by accepting Ð perhaps even enjoying Ð the complexity of these topics, can we hope to achieve sturdy solutions to the problems faced by our society.

Download or read book Taxation written by Martin O'Neill and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-07-19 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first book to give a collective treatment of philosophical issues relating to tax. The tax system is central to the operation of states and to the ways in which states interact with individual citizens. Taxes are used by states to fund the provision of public goods and public services, to engage in direct or indirect forms of redistribution, and to mould the behaviour of individual citizens. As the contributors to this volume show, there are a number of pressing and thorny philosophical issues relating to the tax system, and these issues often connect in fascinating ways with foundational questions regarding property rights, public justification, democracy, state neutrality, stability, political psychology, and other moral and political issues. Many of these deep and fascinating philosophical questions about tax have not received as much sustained attention as they clearly merit. The aim of advancing the debate about tax in political philosophy has both general and more specific aspects, ranging across both over-arching issues regarding the tax system as a whole and more specific issues relating to particular forms of tax policy. Thinking clearly about tax is not an easy task, as much that is of central importance is missed if one proceeds at too great a level of abstraction, and issues of conceptual and normative importance often only come sharply into focus when viewed against real-world questions of implementation and feasibility. Serious philosophical work on the tax system will often therefore need to be interdisciplinary, and so the discussion in this book includes a number of scholars whose expertise spans across neighbouring disciplines to philosophy, including political science, economics, public policy, and law.