We present a model of optimizing government behavior in which a need for increased revenue leads to the introduction of a new revenue source, such as a VAT, accompanied by a reduction in income taxes. We argue that this is a plausible outcome for the United States, in view of international...

As governors and state legislators across the country search for ways to address the budgetary imbalances that many of their states face following the Great Recession, reductions in individual income tax credits and deductions are being considered. Unfortunately, the casualties of that process...

The federal government confronts a long-run fiscal imbalance arising from the rapid projected growth of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security spending compared with revenue. The enactment of a value added tax is often mentioned as a possible solution to this imbalance. This article is the...

In the first article of this series, I considered the proper treatment of state governments under a hypothetical federal value added tax. In this article, I extend that analysis. As in the first article, I assume that a federal VAT should maintain neutrality between goods provided by the private...