This article criticizes a proposal recently put forward by the co-chairmen of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform to abolish all tax expenditures and sharply reduce statutory tax rates. The author believes that abolishing all tax expenditures without regard to merit or a...

There have been a number of proposals lately to impose a new tax on securities or financial transactions, both as a revenue measure and a way of disciplining Wall Street speculation. This article argues that such a tax would be a bad idea and that it makes more sense to tax financial activities...

This article reviews the impact of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 after 25 years. While there are many ways that TRA 1986 has permanently altered the structure of federal taxation, it is hard to find ways in which it changed anything real in terms of economic growth, employment, or productivity....

Republicans frequently criticize Democrats for "class warfare" when they suggest raising taxes on the rich. But Republicans also engage in class warfare by regularly attacking the close to half of all federal income tax filers with no tax liability. They imply that this is a major source of the...

The proposed balanced budget amendment is actually a spending limitation amendment. It would limit federal spending to 18 percent of GDP. This article argues that using GDP to calculate the maximum amount of spending is grossly inappropriate, especially for a constitutional amendment, because...

Given the strenuous resistance of Republicans to any tax increase, it would seem that voluntary taxation is the only kind they will accept. This being the case, this article examines the theory and history of voluntary taxation. While it may be viable in certain cases in small, cohesive...

This article takes a critical view of tax preferences targeted at the manufacturing sector. Their justification is dubious and they move in the opposite direction of tax reform. If people are genuinely concerned about the competitiveness of American industry, replacing the corporate income tax...

On January 24, 1963, John F. Kennedy sent a message to Congress proposing tax reduction and tax reform. On the 50th anniversary of this event, this article reviews the political hurdles to its enactment, which were much more severe than generally realized today

The trend of the last 50 years has been to reduce taxes on the wealthy. But this article argues that the United States has come to the end of that trend. The need for additional federal revenue, and rising wealth and income inequality are fueling a change in direction. There is rising support in...