We present a model of optimizing government behavior in which a need for increased revenue leads to the introduction of a new revenue source, such as a VAT, accompanied by a reduction in income taxes. We argue that this is a plausible outcome for the United States, in view of international...

Democratic presidential candidates and members of Congress are vying with one another to raise marginal tax rates for high-income earners, particularly the top 1 or 2 percent of taxpayers. A careful review of economic theory and evidence suggests that raising tax rates at the top is an...

Congress is considering allowing the Bush tax cuts' rate reductions for high-income households to expire at the end of 2010 while providing a deficit-financed extension of the middle-class portion of the tax cuts. This combination would damage economic growth by hiking marginal tax rates on...

In this article, I discuss the enactment, structure, and economic implications of the UIMC. Despite its statutory name, the income to which the UIMC applies is not unearned and the tax is not a contribution to Medicare. Contrary to the bizarre myth circulating on the Internet, the UIMC is not a...

Actual state and local sales taxes diverge dramatically from the popular and textbook vision of the tax. One major flaw is the exclusion of a wide range of consumer services from taxation, which renders the consumer tax base much narrower than the textbook description suggests. The other crucial...