The Tax Reform Act of 1986 constituted the most sweeping postwar change in the U.S. federal income tax. This paper considers what the Act accomplished and its implications for future tax policy. After a review of the Act itself, and why it happened, we consider the evidence of the Act's impact...

This paper attempts to assess whether the Tax Reform Act of 1986 simplified tax matters significantly, or at all. I conclude that, despite a few scattered signs that tax-related financial planning has declined, the compliance cost of the income tax system is probably higher now than it was in...

A large literature examines the addictive properties of such behaviors as smoking, drinking alcohol and eating. We argue that for some people addictive behavior may apply to a much more central aspect of economic life: working. Workaholism is subject to the same concerns about the individual as...

Introduction. Colombia is facing a fiscal situation featuring large and probably unsustainable projected deficits. The solution will almost certainly involve some combination of increased tax revenues and decreased expenditures. Tax revenue increases can come from either raising the rates or...

Top economists provide much-needed guidance--and some surprising conclusions--in response to rising public concerns about inequality in the U.S. tax system.