In this article, we analyze an alternative, more sweeping approach to California tax reform. We examine the complete replacement of personal and corporate income taxes and the current sales tax with a broad-based consumption-oriented retail sales tax, accompanied by rebates to address...

List of illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Why tax consumption? -- The case for the X tax -- Maintaining progressivity -- Fringe benefits and transfer payments -- Business firms -- Financial services -- International transactions -- The transition -- The nonbusiness sector --...

Good tax policy should be pro-growth, simple, and fair. An income tax, unlike a consumption tax, penalizes saving, which undermines economic growth and introduces complexity. An income tax is often thought to be fairer than a consumption tax, however, because it taxes saving, which is...