The tax reform agenda

Abstract

High tax rates that distort incentives and create large deadweight losses have been reduced, but there is still much more to be done to improve the tax system. It is useful to distinguish between tax rules that represent tax expenditures relative to a pure income tax from rules that represent tax expenditures relative to a consumption tax. I think it is important to focus on tax expenditures relative to a consumption tax base. It is possible that if there were no estate tax, the present value of the taxes paid by future heirs would exceed the revenue lost by abolishing the estate tax. On the corporate side, a shift to a territorial system of taxation would have very substantial favorable effects, while pass-through entities have a very weak case for a significantly lower tax rate. The net effect of such tax changes would be an increase in the budget deficit, though that increase is likely to be only temporary due to legislative rules. I am optimistic that there will be tax reforms enacted in the next twelve months holding great promise for improving our tax system and our economy.