This chapter reviews the theory of the voluntary public and private redistribution of wealth elaborated by economic analysis in the last forty years or so. The central object of the theory is altruistic gift-giving, construed as benevolent voluntary redistribution of income or wealth. The theory...

This outline covers significant developments in federal income taxation along with a few other interesting or noteworthy tax topics. It offers a selective treatment of case law and some administrative developments that are likely to interest practitioners and advisors within a broad range of...

In absence of third-party reporting, taxpayers are required to self-report information with various degrees of detail, ranging from uncorroborated claims to comprehensive records with receipts. Using a quasi-experimental design applied to noncash charitable contribution deductions, I show that...

The upcoming one-year repeal of the federal estate tax creates an opportunity to reconsider the taxation of wealth transfers. This paper argues that federal wealth transfer taxes should be retained and potentially expanded. The estate tax contributes importantly to the progressivity of the tax...

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) makes available to certain lower and middle-income individuals a refundable tax credit, the Premium Tax Credit (PTC), designed to help them pay the premiums on their qualified health care plans. To achieve Congress’s goal of making health...

This testimony makes three main points. First, inheritances tend to exacerbate existing economic disparities and may be the most important barrier to intergenerational economic mobility. These tendencies are most pronounced at the top of the income distribution. While inherited income is...

This Article addresses the legal consequences a taxpayer should consider when deciding whether to comply with the basic requirements of the federal income tax laws. A taxpayer considering noncompliance should consider the government's authority to assert criminal liability, impose civil tax...

This is a conceptual paper, the author discusses some fundamental assumptions regarding taxation. These assumptions need to be re-examined. The author has carried out a survey of fifty professionals in the field of tax administrations and based on discussions with them tried to identify the...

The paper presents the main characteristics of BETAMOD, a static microsimulation model that reproduces the Italian personal income tax (IRPEF), as well as local income taxes, namely the regional and municipal additional income taxes, building on a detailed reconstruction of tax legislation. With...