General sales taxes provide substantial fractions of state and local revenues in the US. However, state and local sales tax bases have been eroding steadily during the past 50 years. Base erosion contributes to fiscal stress in the states; therefore, prospects for continued sales tax base...

Previous studies suggest that income taxes do not affect the convergence speed in neoclassical and new growth models. Those studies use very simple tax structures. This paper shows that a relation between taxes and convergence speed emerges if tax benefits are included in standard macroeconomic...

The elasticity of taxable income determines revenue and welfare responses to taxes. Measurement of this elasticity is an ongoing focus of tax policy research. Empirical studies report short-run elasticities. However, general equilibrium relationships can cause short-run and long-run elasticities...

With few exceptions, state and local general sales and use taxes are levied primarily on tangible goods. Secular trends in production and consumption of goods and services, as well as legislated exemptions and exclusions, have eroded sales tax bases. A number of reforms designed to reduce base...

Ricardian behavior may increase the variance of consumption: A change in national income will change future tax liabilities endogenously; if consumers are Ricardian, consumption will change for this reason. This paper studies the effects of these changes on the stability of an economy with...