George R. Zodrow

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world’s leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas.George Zodrow offers a fresh look at taxation from a public economics perspective, focusing on how taxes affect economic behaviour and impact the decisions of both households and businesses.Zodrow explores both the theoretical and empirical literatures, discussing classic results and modern extensions. He demonstrates how knowledge of economic behavior can be utilized to construct both analytical and computable models of the effects of taxes on the United States economy. He concludes by exploring optimal taxation, which balances efficiency and equity goals when designing tax systems that aim to maximize social welfare while taking into account the constraints imposed by the tax-induced behavioral responses of households and businesses.Key FeaturesExamines effects of taxes on household and business behaviorConsiders international taxation, income shifting and tax competitionDiscusses general equilibrium modeling of the effects of taxationExplores alternative tax systems, including proposals for fundamental tax reformAnalyzes classic and modern results on optimal taxationEvaluates the ongoing debate regarding the policy implications of optimal tax theoryThis Advanced Introduction to Taxation is an invaluable guide to students in public economics, public finance and taxation. This book will also be of interest to tax professionals and readers interested in improving their understanding of the many economic effects of taxation.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world’s leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas.George Zodrow offers a fresh look at taxation from a public economics perspective, focusing on how taxes affect economic behaviour and impact the decisions of both households and businesses.Zodrow explores both the theoretical and empirical literatures, discussing classic results and modern extensions. He demonstrates how knowledge of economic behavior can be utilized to construct both analytical and computable models of the effects of taxes on the United States economy. He concludes by exploring optimal taxation, which balances efficiency and equity goals when designing tax systems that aim to maximize social welfare while taking into account the constraints imposed by the tax-induced behavioral responses of households and businesses.Key FeaturesExamines effects of taxes on household and business behaviorConsiders international taxation, income shifting and tax competitionDiscusses general equilibrium modeling of the effects of taxationExplores alternative tax systems, including proposals for fundamental tax reformAnalyzes classic and modern results on optimal taxationEvaluates the ongoing debate regarding the policy implications of optimal tax theoryThis Advanced Introduction to Taxation is an invaluable guide to students in public economics, public finance and taxation. This book will also be of interest to tax professionals and readers interested in improving their understanding of the many economic effects of taxation.

As state governments grapple with increased revenue needs or demands for state tax reform, they typically must choose between relying on an income tax system or utilizing a sales tax, perhaps in conjunction with a corporate franchise tax. Choosing between these two tax options is often a contentious process, and many arguments can arise in the debates surrounding this issue. In this study of small, open economic systems, George R. Zodrow addresses the relative advantages and disadvantages of state sales and income taxes from an economic perspective. He evaluates the two options in terms of the criteria commonly used in the public finance literature, including economic efficiency, fairness, administrative simplicity, and tax exportability. Zodrow's study emphasizes how the comparison of state sales and income taxes is critically affected by the details of the alternative tax structures being considered, as well as by the nature of the interactions between the economy of a state and the rest of the nation and world, and by the interactions between the state and federal tax systems in the United States. He also considers briefly two alternatives to state sales and income taxes--increased utilization of user charges and the adoption of a state tax based on mildly progressive taxation of individual consumption rather than income. In the chapter, Zodrow applies his analysis to the current Texas tax system as well as proposals for the introduction of a state income tax. This provocative case study will serve as an informative contribution to the continuing public policy debate over the state tax structure.

“Over the years Colombian tax officials have received the benefit of first-class advice of leading foreign scholars. In return, these scholars-and indeed everyone concerned with development policy-have gained a great deal both from the unusual willingness of Colombians to consider new ideas in detail and then, after full public discussion, drawing on the work of these experts to design a ‘made-in-Colombia’ solution.“[The book’s] most important contribution, however, is undoubtedly with respect to consumption taxes. No one, anywhere, has thought through with such care just how the so-called ‘simplified alternative tax’ (essentially a direct personal consumption tax combined with a cash-flow corporate tax) might work in the real world. Since such taxes are increasingly being considered-if not adopted-all over the world, in developing and developed countries alike, for this reason alone this book should be high on the reading list of all those concerned with the design and implementation of efficient and equitable direct tax systems.”-From the Foreword by Richard M. Bird