The U.S. income tax badly needs reform. It is complex, unfair, and inefficient. It doesn’t come close to raising enough revenue to finance government expenditures, and won’t any time in the foreseeable future unless it is revised. Raising tax rates could increase revenues, but it wouldn’t...

This paper examines the history and economic effects of the BDT in Colombia. Section II reviews the history of the BDT in Colombia. Section III discusses its use throughout Latin America. Section IV examines the effects of Colombia’s BDT on efficiency, equity, and tax administration. Section V...

The individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) was designed in 1970 to apply reduce aggressive tax sheltering, but under current law will grow to cover tens of millions of households in the next decade. The growth occurs because the AMT is not indexed for inflation and the 2001 tax cut reduced...

One possible explanation for the difficulty in controlling the budget is that a major component of spending --tax expenditures--receives privileged status. It is treated as tax cuts rather than spending. This paper explores the implications of that classification and illustrates how it can lead...

Despite their passion and fury, contemporary Americans are remarkably clueless about how their tax system works. But with heated debates over taxation now roiling Congress and the nation, an understanding of the American tax system is of vital importance. Taxes in America, by preeminent tax...