Description
Taxes are an inescapable part of life. They are perhaps the most economically consequential aspect of the relationship between individuals and their government. Understanding tax development and implementation, not to mention the political forces involved, is critical to fully appreciating and critiquing that relationship.
Tax Politics and Policy offers a comprehensive survey of taxation in the United States. It explores competing theories of taxation’s role in civil society; investigates the evolution and impact of taxes on income, consumption, and assets; and highlights the role of interest groups in tax policy. This is the first book to include a separate look at "sin" taxes on tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and sugar. The book concludes with a look at tax reform ideas, both old and new.
This book is written for a broad audience—from upper-level undergraduates to graduate students in public policy, public administration, political science, economics, and related fields—and anyone else that has ever paid taxes.
Table of Contents
About the Author
Part 1: Theoretical Foundations
Chapter 1: Philosophical and Constitutional Origins of Tax Policy in the United States
Chapter 2: Spirit, Content, and Impact: Principles of Tax Policy Structure and Evaluation
Part 2: Taxes on Income
Chapter 3: Taxing Individual Income: Misunderstood, but Seldom Forgotten
Chapter 4: Taxing Corporate Income: Are They People, Too?
Part 3: Taxes on Consumption
Chapter 5: Taxing Everyday Consumption: Tariffs, Excises, and Sales Taxes
Chapter 6: Taxing Sinful Consumption: Tobacco, Alcohol, Marijuana, and Sugar
Part 4: Taxes on Assets
Chapter 7: Taxing Land and Property: Hitting You Where You Live
Chapter 8: Taxing Gifts, Estates, and Inheritances: Death and Taxes
Part 5: The Way Forward
Chapter 9: Tax Reform: Ideas without Action
Chapter 10: Reflections
Index
