It is argued that taxation causes three kinds of deadweight losses and two types of direct costs. The deadweight losses arise from substitution, evasion, and avoidance activities while the direct costs are administrative and compliance costs. Some of these social costs tend to be discontinuous...

Introduction -- Acknowledgments -- Do we tax capital income? -- Does the United States tax capital income? / Joel Slemrod -- Comment / Reed Shuldiner -- Comment / Jane Gravelle -- Should we tax capital income? -- Should capital income be subject to consumption-based taxation? / George Zodrow --...

We explore issues related to a financial transaction tax (FTT) in the United States. We trace the history and current practice of the tax in the United States and other countries, review evidence of its impact on financial markets, and explore the key design issues any such tax must address. We...