Available:*
Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000004304865 | HJ4652 S53 2004 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
On Order
Summary
Summary
To follow the debate over U.S. 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 presenting in clear non-technical language the key issues in U.S. tax reform: who should pay taxes, how taxes affect the economy and whether to reform or replace the current tax system. The authors discuss various alternative proposals in detail, including the flat tax and the sales tax, but they are not advocates for any of them; instead, they provide readers with the knowledge and the tools - including an informative overview of the U.S. tax system and an invaluable voter's guide to the tax policy debate - to make their own informed choices about how American citizens should tax themselves. The third edition of this popular guide has been extensively revised and updated to cover all changes in U.S. tax laws through to May 2003 and to reflect the most recent research and relevant data. It also provides new or expanded treatment of issues in the current debate, including tax cuts and whether they stimulate the economy, savings incentives, double taxation of corporate income, the estate tax, c
Reviews 1
Choice Review
Slemrod (Michigan) and Bakija (Williams) present a non-technical guide to American taxes that even tax scholars will appreciate, because of the information and clear analysis provided. It is particularly valuable that they bring the latest economic research into the policy discussion in a way that is accessible to non-specialists. They provide an extensive overview of the federal system that focuses on the structure of the taxes, followed by chapters that discuss and apply to taxes in the revenue system the criteria of fairness, growth impact, and simplicity and enforceability . They examine the impact of key elements of major reform proposals (particularly flat tax), followed by consideration of the more radical reform of switching from income to consumption taxation. They run through several specific reform proposals that have emerged since the Tax Reform Act of 1986 and conclude with a series of questions a citizen might raise when new proposals emerge, primarily to help sort out fraudulent claims. Their attention is devoted primarily to federal income taxes (that's where the money is), and they consider state and local taxes only to the extent they are relevant to federal taxation. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels. --John L. Mikesell, Indiana University--Bloomington
Table of Contents
| Preface | p. xi |
| 1 Introduction | p. 1 |
| 2 An Overview of the U.S. Tax System | p. 13 |
| 3 Fairness | p. 55 |
| 4 Taxes and Economic Prosperity | p. 97 |
| 5 Simplicity and Enforceability | p. 157 |
| 6 Elements of Fundamental Reform | p. 189 |
| 7 What Are the Alternatives? | p. 233 |
| 8 Starting from Here | p. 273 |
| 9 A Voter's Guide to the Tax Policy Debate | p. 309 |
| Notes | p. 313 |
| References | p. 347 |
| Index | p. 369 |
