This paper seeks to clarify the extent to which the rule for providing public goods ought to correct for the distortionary cost of raising funds. We argue that, in evaluating public projects, the marginal cost of funds (MCF) concept must be supplemented by a symmetrical concept, which we label...

This paper presents new homogeneous series on top wealth shares from 1916 to 2000 in the United States using estate tax return data. Top wealth shares were very high at the beginning of the period but have been hit sharply by the Great Depression, the New Deal, and World War II shocks. Those...

Analyzes the extent to which U.S. tax policies reduce the income gap between richer and poorer individuals and contrasts the extent to which these policies alter rankings of individuals in overall income distribution.

This paper points out the similarities and differences between cost-benefit analysis and tax reform. By restricting the analysis to the margin it is shown that both areas can be handled by the same method. In both areas, there is a need to define social distributional weights and to evaluate the...

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...

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....

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...