Specialized theoretical and empirical research should in principle be embedded in a unified framework that identifies the relevant interactions among different phenomena, enables an appropriate matching of policy instruments to objectives, and grounds normative analysis in individuals' utilities...

This paper investigates how concealment costs of transfer pricing and the probability of detection affect transfer pricing and firm behavior. We find that transfer pricing in intermediate production factors does not affect real activity of a multinational firm if the firm's concealment effort as...

A recent wave of literature, partly motivated by presidential campaign tax reform plans, analyzes tax expenditure limitation proposals. These reforms are often advanced not only, or even primarily, because they reduce distortions caused by favoritism for some types of expenditures over others....

The complexity of the income tax is an unending source of complaint, and compliance costs are estimated to be very large. Yet most recognize that some degree of complexity is necessary if income is to be measured accurately. This article presents a framework for analyzing the value of greater...

This article explores subjects in optimal income taxation characterized by recent research interest, practical importance in light of concerns about inequality, potential for misunderstanding, and prospects for advancement. Throughout, the analysis highlights paths for further investigation....

This chapter provides a description of one of the key anti-tax-avoidance rules to combat profit shifting by multinational corporations, so called Controlled Foreign Corporation (CFC) rules that directly target income in low-tax countries. We explain some key institutional features of CFC...

This study develops theory and discusses implications of flexibility in income shifting for multinational corporations that have both profit- and loss-making affiliates. Our theoretical model shows that when multinationals do not have flexibility to adjust their income-shifting strategies within...

This study examines the flexibility of multinational firms to adjust their income-shifting strategies -- whether using transfer pricing or internal debt -- during the tax year to react to affiliates' operating losses. We develop the concept that under flexibility, multinationals can adjust their...