The Economics of Tax Policy

Abstract

The debates about the what, who, and how of tax policy are at the core of politics, policy, and economics. The Economics of Tax Policy provides a straightforward overview of recent research in the economics of taxation. Tax policies generate considerable debate among the public, policymakers, and scholars. These disputes have grown more heated in the United States as the incomes of the wealthiest 1 percent and the rest of the population continue to diverge. This important volume enhances understanding of the implications of taxation on behavior and social outcomes by having leading scholars evaluate key topics in tax policy. These include how changes to the individual income tax affect long-term economic growth; the challenges of tax administration, compliance, and enforcement; and environmental taxation and its effects on tax revenue, pollution emissions, economic efficiency, and income distribution. Also explored are tax expenditures, which are subsidy programs in the form of tax deductions, exclusions, credits, or favorable rates; how college attendance is influenced by tax credits and deductions for tuition and fees, tax-advantaged college savings plans, and student loan interest deductions; and how tax policy toward low-income families takes a number of forms with different distributional effects. Among the most contentious issues explored are influences of capital gains and estate taxation on the long term concentration of wealth; the interaction of tax policy and retirement savings and how policy can nudge improved planning for retirement; and how the reform of corporate and business taxation is central to current tax policy debates in the United States. By providing overviews of recent advances in thinking about how taxes relate to behavior and social goals, The Economics of Tax Policy helps inform the debate. Contributors to this volume - Rosanne Altshuler Deptember of Economics Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ Alan Auerbach Department of Economics University of California, Berkeley The National Bureau of Economic Research Berkeley, CA Daniel Berger Urban Institute and Tax Policy Center Washington, DC Len Burman Urban Institute and Tax Policy Center Washington, DC Dhammika Dharmapala University of Chicago Law School Chicago, IL Susan Dynarski Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy University of Michigan National Bureau of Economic Research Ann Arbor, MI David Figlio Institute for Policy Research Northwestern University National Bureau of Economic Research Evanston, IL John N. Friedman Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs Brown University National Bureau of Economic Research Providence, RI Don Fullerton Department of Economics University of Illinois National Bureau of Economic Research Urbana, IL William G. Gale Brookings Institution and Tax Policy Center Washington, DC Kevin Hassett American Enterprise Institute Washington, DC James R. Hines Jr. University of Michigan Law School National Bureau of Economic Research Ann Arbor, MI Hilary Hoynes Goldman School of Public Policy University of California at Berkeley National Bureau of Economic Research Berkeley, CA Louis Kaplow Harvard University Law School National Bureau of Economic Research Cambridge, MA Wojciech Kopczuk? Department of Economics Columbia University National Bureau of Economic Research New York, NY Brigitte C. Madrian John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard University National Bureau of Economic Research Cambridge, MA James M. Poterba Department of Economics Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA Jeffrey Rohaly Urban Institute and Tax Policy Center Washington, DC Jesse Rothstein Institute for Research on Labor and Employment University of California at Berkeley National Bureau of Economic Research Berkeley, CA Andrew A. Samwick The Nelson A. Rockefeller Center Dartmouth College National Bureau of Economic Research Hanover, NH Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach Institute for Policy Research Northwestern University Brookings Institution National Bureau of Economic Research Evanston, IL Judith Scott-Clayton Teachers College Columbia University National Bureau of Economic Research New York, NI Joel Slemrod Stephen M. Ross School of Business University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI Kent Smetters The Wharton School The University of Pennsylvania The National Bureau of Economic Research Philadelphia, PA Eric Toder Urban Institute and Tax Policy Center Washington, DC Alan D. Viard American Enterprise Institute Washington, DC David Weisbach University of Chicago Law School Chicago, IL Roberton C. Williams III University of Maryland Resources for the Future NBER