There is a common belief that tax withholding systems have worked not only as Abstract efficient tax collection mechanisms but also as effective tax evasion controls. However, little is known about the role of withholding in tax compliance beyond the fact that withholding may reduce...

Updated estimates of various measures of central city-suburban fiscal disparities are presented for 1987, along with previously published ACIR estimates for selected years. The estimates show that central city-suburban fiscal disparities have not changed dramatically over the past 30 years....

Since the seminal work of Ramsey (1927) and especially Diamond and Mirrlees (1971), a large body of literature has striven to identify rules characterizing optimal tax structures. The fundamental limitation of such an approach has been the lack of information necessary to implement the rules...

This paper investigates the relationship between public sector employment and fiscal decentralization. We develop a theoretical framework modeling the interactions between the central and subnational executives regarding the level of public employment at the central and subnational government...

The authors build on the work of Engelmann and Strobel and of Ackert, Martinez-Vazquez, and Rider to examine the potential role of social preferences in tax policy design. They randomly assign each participant in a session to a group with five members. The payoffs to participants are determined...

Taxpayers unlawfully trying to avoid income tax in most countries can mis-report a wide variety of line items, including income sources, exemptions, deductions, and credits. Such portfolio opportunities, or “modes,†for evasion raise important policy questions. For example, increasing...