This chapter argues that fundamental fairness principles demand changes in U.S. tax law to place those who rent on an equal tax footing with those who own their residences. The disparity in tax treatment of owners and renters results primarily from the failure of the tax law to include the use...

Unknown or almost nonexistent till ’90 years, the phenomenon of tax evasion had abundantly flourished in the Romania’s transitional economy, covering all its fields with black spots, under many, various and harmful appearance. The first laws stipulating the profit and the salary taxes also...

The goal of this article is to analyze the impact of equity tax shields, that were allowed in Austria from 2000 to 2004, on the capital structure of Austrian firms, both at book values and at market values. We see that the choice of the leverage ratio determines whether or not one can find an...

When policymakers look to trim fat from the federal government they too often ignore half the problem: the vast and complicated set of spending programs administered by the IRS. These programs are often referred to as tax expenditures, but this paper argues that they should be viewed just like...

Countries that are moving from central planning to a market economy face unique problems in many areas, including taxation and public finance. The methods of collecting the revenue needed to fund government services were much different under a socialist system. Shifting to a market system...

Tax systems have become increasingly complex in recent decades. There is no such thing as a single tax. There are individual income taxes, corporate income taxes, sometimes local income taxes. There are a variety of indirect taxes, such as the value added tax (VAT), various kinds of excise...

In 1981, Robert Hall and Alvin Rabushka were formulating in the Wall Street Journal, in a paternalist manner, the contemporary argument in favour of the flat rate tax. The main advantage of the flat tax is the simplicity of the fiscal system. Then, a lower taxation will stimulate saving, the...

The problem of debt bias can be tackled through either disincentivizing the use of debt financing or incentivizing the use of equity financing. Considering the South African context - in which many firms are highly leveraged and the marginal effective tax rates for using debt financing are...

The problem of debt bias can be tackled through either disincentivizing the use of debt financing or incentivizing the use of equity financing. Considering the South African context - in which many firms are highly leveraged and the marginal effective tax rates for using debt financing are...

This paper quantifies the impact of effective corporate tax rates on aggregate total factor productivity (TFP). Using Chilean manufacturing data, we document a large dispersion in the effective tax rate faced by firms and a mass of firms facing a 0 percent tax rate. We incorporate these findings...