Scholars have examined how inequality influences the development of different types of institutions. This article takes a historical perspective to examine how economic inequality and challenges to collective action may have contributed to different taxing and spending patterns of state and...

Comprehensive wealth taxes offer the possibility of reducing inequality while raising revenue. However, implementing comprehensive wealth taxes can be difficult, especially in emerging economies where administrative and political limitations are often substantial. This Article offers an...

This essay provides some observations about the relationship of politics and taxation and reviews the articles and commentaries that were prepared for the Third Annual NYU/UCLA Tax Policy Conference on Politics and Taxation held in Los Angeles on October 18, 2013. Understanding the relationship...

Americans lead the world in supporting charitable activities (both in the U.S. and abroad). For foreign charitable activities, two key questions arise: 1. Should tax benefits support charitable activities outside the U.S.? 2. Should the U.S. tax system treat contributions to foreign charities...

The income distribution in many developed countries widened dramatically from 1970 to 2000. Scholars speculate that inequality contributes to a host of social ills by weakening the public sector. In contrast, we find that growing income inequality is associated with an expansion in revenues and...

The U.S. corporate income tax rate is too high. In an increasing global economy, we are the odd man out. Any corporate rate reduction, however, will have ripple effects throughout the tax system, some intended and some not. This article highlights the possibility of using the potential reduction...

The goal of this article is to provide a guide to addressing tax and spending policies in an era of increasing inequality of income and wealth. This is challenging because it requires a good understanding of inequality and economic mobility, the changing role of taxes and government social...

With the exception of a few North African countries, personal income taxes (PITs) play little or no role in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), often yielding less than 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in revenue. This paper examines how PITs have evolved in recent decades, and...

Academics and others over the last 50 years have called for developing countries to hesitate or refrain from entering into bilateral tax treaties with developed countries. Tax treaties seek to facilitate cross-border transactions and investments by reducing tax barriers and providing greater...