As financial engineering becomes more sophisticated, taxing income from capital becomes increasingly difficult. We offer the first empirical study of a high profile strategy known as "tax-free hedging," which offers economic benefits of a sale without triggering tax. We explore nontax costs that...

Although short sales make an important contribution to financial markets, this transaction faces legal constraints that do not govern long positions. In evaluating these constraints, other commentators, who are virtually all economists, have not focused rigorously enough on the precise contours...

As financial engineering becomes more sophisticated, taxing income from capital becomes increasingly difficult. A crucial issue for tax policymakers, then, is the ease or difficulty of implementing tax-advantaged transactions We offer the first empirical study of a high profile strategy known as...

Although short sales make an important contribution to financial markets, this transaction faces legal constraints that do not govern long positions. In evaluating these constraints, other commentators, who are virtually all economists, have not focused rigorously enough on the precise contours...