This report examines the taxation of corporate gains on depreciable business property, an important topic that has received little attention in the economic literature. The analysis reveals that current law, under which gains on such sales are taxed at ordinary tax rates and buyers are allowed...

Many economists favor revenue-neutral reforms that broaden the corporate tax base and lower the statutory tax rate. Economic analysis provides partial, but not complete, support for this view. Welfare gains do not arise from a lower tax rate as such, but from leveling the playing field between...

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...

Although it is widely recognized that a temporary corporate tax rate cut will do less to encourage investment than a permanent rate cut, the temporary cut's limitations are actually even more severe. A temporary rate cut would discourage many types of investment during the period it was in...

Contrary to some commentators' perceptions, the economic case for corporate tax rate reduction does not involve the hope that corporations will “use” their tax savings to make additional investments, pay higher wages, or hire additional employees. Profit-maximizing corporations look at the...