Who should pay taxes, how should they be collected, and how do they affect the economy? Should the income tax be tinkered with, replaced with a flat tax, or left alone? Cutting through the academic jargon and self-serving Washington-speak, Joel Slemrod and Jon Bakija bring together all of the data, analytical insight, and related material bearing on tax reform to explore the fundamental questions and choices inherent in tax policy making. Taxing Ourselves begins with a concise overview of the U.S. tax system as it exists today, offering historical and international perspectives on taxation. It examines the criteria that should serve as guides for tax policy - fairness, the promotion of economic prosperity, and simplicity - and explores the controversies and difficulties related to each one. Crucial questions about how the burden of our tax system is actually distributed and the economic effects of taxation are addressed. Slemrod and Bakija review the key elements of fundamental tax reform proposals, including a single rate, a clean base, and a consumption base. Finally they take a detailed look at the major alternatives for tax reform, providing concise guidelines that will make clear the choices involved in tax policy.

Taxing Ourselves: A Citizen's Guide to the Great Debate over Tax Reform

Business & Money

Slemrod, Joel

Bakija, Jon M.

Accounting

Mit Pr

Taxing Ourselves: A Citizen's Guide to the Debate over Taxes

To follow the debate over tax reform, the interested citizen is forced to choose between misleading sound bites and academic treatises. Taxing Ourselves bridges the gap between the two by presenting in clear nontechnical language the key issues in tax reform: who should pay taxes, how taxes affect the economy, and whether to reform or replace the current tax system. The authors discuss various alternative proposals in detail, including the flat tax and the sales tax, but they are not advocates for any of them; instead, they provide readers with the knowledge and the tools—including an informative overview of the U.S. tax system and an invaluable voter's guide to the tax policy debate—to make their own informed choices about how we should tax ourselves.  The third edition of this popular guide has been extensively revised and updated to cover all changes in tax laws through May 2003 and to reflect the most recent research and relevant data. It also provides new or expanded treatment of issues in the current debate, including tax cuts and whether they stimulate the economy, savings incentives, double taxation of corporate income, the estate tax, corporate tax shelters, and the economic and political effects of budget deficits.

Economics

As Albert Einstein may or may not have said, "The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax." Indeed, to follow the debate over tax reform, the interested citizen is forced to choose between misleading sound bites and academic treatises. Taxing Ourselves bridges the gap between the two by discussing the key issues clearly and without a political agenda: Should the federal income tax be replaced with a flat tax or sales tax? Should it be left in place and reformed? Can tax cuts stimulate the economy, or will higher deficits undermine any economic benefit? Authors and tax policy experts Joel Slemrod and Jon Bakija lay out in accessible language what is known and not known about how taxes affect the economy, offer guidelines for evaluating tax systems, and provide enough information to assess both the current income tax system and the leading proposals to reform or replace it (including the flat tax and the consumption tax). The fourth edition of this popular guide has

"Citizens should read Taxing Ourselves before casting their votes in local, state, and national elections. Politicians should read Taxing Ourselves before taxing us." —Richard C. Schiming, Business Library Review To follow the debate over tax reform, the interested citizen is forced to choose between misleading sound bites and academic treatises. Taxing Ourselves bridges the gap between the two by presenting in clear nontechnical language the key issues in tax reform: who should pay taxes, how taxes affect the economy, and whether to reform or replace the current tax system. The authors discuss various alternative proposals in detail, including the flat tax and the sales tax, but they are not advocates for any of them; instead, they provide readers with the knowledge and the tools—including an informative overview of the U.S. tax system and an invaluable voter's guide to the tax policy debate—to make their own informed choices about how we should tax ourselves. The third edition of this popular guide has been extensively revised and updated to cover all changes in tax laws through May 2003 and to reflect the most recent research and relevant data. It also provides new or expanded treatment of issues in the current debate, including tax cuts and whether they stimulate the economy, savings incentives, double taxation of corporate income, the estate tax, corporate tax shelters, and the economic and political effects of budget deficits.

The fourth edition of a popular guide to the key issues in tax reform, discussing the current system and alternative proposals clearly and without a political agenda.
As Albert Einstein may or may not have said, "The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax." Indeed, to follow the debate over tax reform, the interested citizen is forced to choose between misleading sound bites and academic treatises. Taxing Ourselves bridges the gap between the two by discussing the key issues clearly and without a political agenda: Should the federal income tax be replaced with a flat tax or sales tax? Should it be left in place and reformed? Can tax cuts stimulate the economy, or will higher deficits undermine any economic benefit? Authors and tax policy experts Joel Slemrod and Jon Bakija lay out in accessible language what is known and not known about how taxes affect the economy, offer guidelines for evaluating tax systems, and provide enough information to assess both the current income tax system and the leading proposals to reform or replace it (including the flat tax and the consumption tax). 
The fourth edition of this popular guide has been extensively revised to incorporate the latest information, covering such recent developments as the Bush administration's tax cuts (which expire in 2011) and the alternatives proposed by the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform. Slemrod and Bakija provide us with the knowledge and the tools―including an invaluable voter's guide to the tax policy debate―to make our own informed choices about how we should tax ourselves.

Taxing Ourselves, 4th Edition: A Citizen's Guide to the Debate over Taxes

Reference

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Books by Bakija, Jon M.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bakija, Jon M.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Taxing Ourselves: A Citizen's Guide to the Great Debate over Tax Reform

Taxing Ourselves: A Citizen's Guide to the Debate over Taxes

Taxing Ourselves: A Citizen's Guide to the Debate over Taxes

Taxing Ourselves: A Citizen's Guide to the Debate over Taxes

Taxing Ourselves, 4th Edition: A Citizen's Guide to the Debate over Taxes