Making Tax Sense | The Case for a Progressive Consumed-Income Tax

M. Kevin McGee

ISBN 10: 1498587194 / ISBN 13: 9781498587198

Published by Lexington Books, 2021

About this Item

Making Tax Sense | The Case for a Progressive Consumed-Income Tax | M. Kevin McGee | Taschenbuch | Kartoniert / Broschiert | Englisch | 2021 | Lexington Books | EAN 9781498587198 | Verantwortliche Person für die EU: Libri GmbH, Europaallee 1, 36244 Bad Hersfeld, gpsr[at]libri[dot]de | Anbieter: preigu Print on Demand.

Seller Inventory # 119537710

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Making Tax Sense | The Case for a Progressive Consumed-Income Tax
• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Publication Date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1498587194
• ISBN 13: 9781498587198
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 229W x 152H x 10D millimeters 229 millimeters width by 152 millimeters height by 10 millimeters depth
• Weight: 262 grams
• Seller catalogs:
  • Bücher

About this title

Synopsis

Our tax system is a mess. And the reason for that mess is, our tax system is incoherent. A well-designed tax system is like a good jigsaw puzzle: all the pieces fit together snugly, so when the whole thing is fully assembled, it forms a coherent picture. But our current tax system is disjointed, with parts that don't logically fit together. That results in inconsistencies, complexity, loopholes, and distorted incentives.



We need a tax system that make sense. As this book shows however, making a traditional income tax coherent is an impossible goal. But coherence is achievable if we adjust our target, and complete the switch to a consumed-income tax -- a system that taxes all income, not when it is earned, but when that income is consumed. The move towards a consumed-income tax was begun decades ago, when we first adopted IRAs and other tax-deferred savings accounts. We just needed to complete the evolution.



The book explores a variety of tax issues -- among them savings, small businesses, owner-occupied houses, and corporations -- and develops seven groups of recommended changes. These changes would result in a tax system that would be pro-growth, by eliminating the existing disincentives to saving and investment. But the tax system would also remain progressive, with the wealthy taxed as much as and perhaps even more than currently. That combination could make the recommended changes attractive to members of both parties, and might bring to a close the political seesaw in tax policy that we've experienced over that last several decades.

About the Author

M. Kevin McGee is professor emeritus of economics at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh.