Tax Progressivity and Income Inequality - Softcover

Slemrod, Joel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 052158776X ISBN 13: 9780521587761

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1996

Synopsis

Should the rich bear the brunt of the tax burden, or should it be shared proportionately among the population? This issue has dominated recent public debates over the tax system, and is a controversial issue among economists. This book contains nine essays by economists on tax progressivity--how the tax burden is borne across income classes--and how the tax system affects the inequality of income. It presents the basic facts about how tax progressivity in the U.S. has changed in the 1980s, and assesses its role in exacerbating or offsetting the overall trend toward increased income inequality.

About this title

Book Description:

This book assembles nine research papers on tax progressivity and its relationship to income inequality, written by leading public finance economists. The papers document the changes during the 1980s in progressivity at the federal, state, and local level in the U.S. Conceptual issues about how to measure progressivity are investigated. One paper investigates the extent to which the declining progressivity contributed to the well- documented increase in income inequality over the past two decades. Several papers investigate the economic impact and cost of progressive tax systems. Special attention is given to the behavioral response to taxation of high-income individuals, portfolio behavior, and the taxation of capital gains. The concluding sets of papers addresses the contentious issue of what constitutes a fair tax system. They contrast public attitudes concerning alternative tax systems to economistst notions of fairness and the tradeoff between fairness and economic growth. Each paper is followed by remarks of the conference discussant plus a summary of the conference discussion.

From the Back Cover:

This book assembles nine research papers written by leading public-finance economists on the subject of tax progressivity and its relationship to income inequality. The papers document the changes during the 1980s in progressivity at the federal, state, and local levels in the United States. Conceptual issues about how to measure progressivity are investigated, as well as the extent to which declining progressivity contributed to the well-documented increase in income inequality over the past two decades. Several papers investigate the economic impact and cost of progressive tax systems. Special attention is given to behavioral responses - including portfolio composition - to the taxation of high-income individuals. The concluding papers address the contentious issue of what constitutes a "fair" tax system. They contrast public attitudes concerning alternative tax systems to economists' notions of fairness, and examine the trade-off between fairness and economic growth. Each paper is followed by the formal commentary of a conference participant plus a summary of the conference discussion.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 052158776X
• ISBN 13: 9780521587761
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 376