This paper explores one part of a 1994 Minnesota Department of Revenue field experiment designed to study the effectiveness of alternative enforcement strategies. Two letters containing different normative appeals were sent to two large groups of taxpayers; a control group received no letter....

Attempts to answer whether or not TRA'86 simplified or complicated taxes by comparing data from surveys of compliance costs conducted in 1982 and 1989. Concludes that tax reform did not reverse the growth in compliance costs in the 1980's.

Under U.S. federal and state tax laws, qualifying non–profit organizations receive several kinds of tax benefits. However, the benefits come with compliance costs, as eligible organizations must first apply for them and then file the annual reports necessary to maintain them. We use a national...

The current U.S. income tax system subsidizes contributions to charities by allowing individual taxpayers to itemize and deduct contributions from taxable income. In effect, taxpayers can receive a rebate from the government based on the contributions they make to charitable organizations. Under...

We explore participation and compliance with the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) using a unique administrative data source. Among eligible households with a legal filing requirement, we find that EITC participation is high and that it responded positively to the rise in real benefit amounts...

In this paper, we evaluate and critique ten principal claims made in recent debates on the estate tax, distinguishing five types of statements: facts, rhetoric, value judgments, economic reasoning, and informed speculation. Economics cannot fully resolve the debate because economic knowledge is...

Lists the 10 most frequently cited articles in the National Tax Journal's first 50 years. The often cited articles focus on state and local finance issues and the responsiveness of state revenue to economic growth. Also provides an index to volumes

This paper uses newly available data from the IRS to assess the distributional consequences of U.S. federal income tax noncompliance for the tax year 2001. We find that, when taxpayers are arrayed by their estimated "true" income, defined as reported income adjusted for underreporting, the ratio...

While policymakers struggle with identifying and enacting the appropriate short-term policy response to the financial crisis and economic downturn of 2008, 2009, and perhaps beyond, both academics and policymakers are examining the causes of the crisis and what lessons this might bring to bear...

Advances in genetic research promise to loosen the tradeoff between progressivity and efficiency by allowing tax liability (or transfer eligibility) to be based in part on immutable characteristics of individuals (“tags”) that are correlated with their expected lot in life. Use of genetic...