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April 2008
6 x 9, 546 pp., 5 illus.
$47.00/£34.95 (CLOTH)
Short

ISBN-10:
0-262-04247-9
ISBN-13:
978-0-262-04247-5

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Fundamental Tax Reform
Issues, Choices, and Implications
Edited by John W. Diamond and George R. Zodrow
Foreword by James A. Baker III


Table of Contents and Sample Chapters

Reform of the federal income tax system has become a perennial item on the domestic policy agenda of the United States, although there is considerable uncertainty over specifics. Indeed the recent report of the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform recommended not one but two divergent policy directions (and included extensive discussion of a third). In Fundamental Tax Reform, top experts in tax policy discuss a wide range of issues raised by the prospect of significant tax reform, identifying the most critical questions and considering whether the answers are known, unknown—or unknowable.

The debates over tax reform usually concern the advantages and disadvantages of income-based taxation as opposed to any of the several alternative forms of consumption-based taxation. The book opens with chapters that discuss the strengths, weaknesses, and political feasibility of these options. Other chapters consider the effects of tax reforms on businesses, especially their investment behavior, and include a discussion of possible problems in any transition to a consumption-based tax; international taxation issues arising in an era of globalization; and individual behavioral response to tax reform, including a view of the topic from the perspective of the relatively new field of behavioral economics.

Contributors:
Rosanne Altshuler, Alan J. Auerbach, John W. Diamond, Harry Grubert, Arnold C. Harberger, Kevin A. Hassett, Thomas J. Kniesner, Laurence J. Kotlikoff, Edward J. McCaffery, Kathryn Newmark, David Rapson, Daniel Shaviro, Joel Slemrod, James P. Ziliak, George R. Zodrow.

Discussants:
James Alm, Henry J. Aaron, Charles L. Ballard, Leonard E. Burman, Robert S. Chirinko, Robert D. Dietz, Malcolm Gillis, Roger H. Gordon, Jane G. Gravelle, Timothy S. Gunning, James M. Poterba, Thomas S. Neubig, Alan Viard, George Yin.

About the Editors

John W. Diamond is Edward and Hermena Kelly Fellow in Tax Policy and Adjunct Professor of Economics at the Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University.

George R. Zodrow is Professor of Economics and Rice Scholar at the Baker Institute and International Research Fellow at the Centre for Business Taxation, Oxford University.


Endorsements

"Diamond and Zodrow have produced a timely book on fundamental tax reform that avoids revisiting old and tired issues, appeals to a broad policy-oriented audience, and draws leading scholars to comment on reform-related issues."
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics

"This book is required reading for anyone undertaking—or even considering—fundamental tax reform. The authors and discussants of the papers take a fresh look at important issues that many thought were settled."
Charles McLure, Senior Fellow Emeritus, Hoover Institution, Stanford University

"Expiring tax provisions, concern over the alternative minimum tax, and global competition in business taxation imply that major tax reform in the United States will be on the agenda for the next president. But which reform? This book tackles tough questions regarding the effects of tax reform on business investment, asset prices, and U.S. competitiveness; it will be essential reading for economists writing on tax reform and for policy advisors."
R. Glenn Hubbard, Dean, Columbia School of Business



Awards

Winning entry, Professional Cover/Jacket Category, in the 2009 New England Book Show sponsored by Bookbuilders of Boston.





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Economics, Finance, and Business
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