This paper analyzes the effect of taxation on the intertemporal allocation of an exhaustible resource. A general framework within which a large variety of taxes can be analyzed is developed and then applied to a number of specific taxes. It is shown that there exists a pattern of taxation which...

The theory of optimal taxation has , for the pas two decades , been the reigning normative approach of taxation. This paper argues that , in its current state, optimal tax theory is incomplete as a guide to action concerning many critical issues in tax policy. It is incomplete because it has not...

We study the structure of nonlinear incentive-compatible taxes, in a dynamic economy subject to political economy and commitment problems. In contrast to existing analyses of dynamic and/or nonlinear taxation problems, we relax the assumptions that taxes are set by a benevolent government and...

The literature on the question of how best to distribute the burden of taxation is technical and vast. However, in order for there to be a tax burden to distribute, there must first be a relatively stable social order that establishes, among other things, property rights. But the establishing of...

Many things inform a country’s choice of tax system, including political considerations, public opinion, bureaucratic complexities, and ideas drawn from theoretical analysis. In this book, Robin Boadway examines the role of optimal tax analysis in informing and influencing tax policy design....

Intro -- Contents -- Series Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Part I Introduction and Motivation -- 1 The Need for Tax-System Analysis -- 2 Standard Optimal Tax Models -- Part II Building Blocks of Tax Systems -- 3 Multiple Behavioral Margins -- 4 Multiple Sources of Costs -- 5 Tax Base Elasticity...

Intro -- Contents -- Series Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- 1 Introduction -- 2 From Tax Theory to Policy: An Overview -- 2.1 Landmarks of Optimal Tax Theory -- 2.2 The Evolution of Policy and Advice -- 2.3 Challenges for the Theory of Tax Policy -- 2.4 Optimal Analysis versus Reform Analysis --...

This paper tests a version of Barro’s tax-smoothing model, which assumes intertemporal optimization by a government seeking to minimize the distortionary costs of taxation, using Pakistan and Sri Lankan data for 1956-95 and 1964-97, respectively. The empirical results indicate that...