1,720,996 research outputs found
Incremental versus Fundamental Tax Reform and the Top One Percent
Full text linkThis article describes the historical shift from consumption taxation at the federal level to income taxation with the enactment of the 16th amendment (the intent of which was chiefly to tax the capital income of the wealthy) and the incremental shifts since then back toward consumption taxation (which frees capital from tax) through expansion of both the payroll taxes as well as the consumption tax features of our current hybrid income/consumption tax that target the middle class.
It then addresses the issue of whether we ought to expand consumption tax treatment to the very wealthy by reviewing two recently published books on fundamental tax reform, Edward J. McCaffery\u27s Fair Not Flat and Michael J. Graetz\u27s The Decline (and Fall?) of the Income Tax. One of the author\u27s chief concerns with McCaffery\u27s proposal to replace the income/consumption tax (as well as the estate and gift tax) with a cash-flow consumption tax with graduated rates is the effect his proposal could have on the tax paid by the top one percent of wealth owners, which now owns nearly forty percent of the private wealth in the U.S.
The author believes that a significant shift in the tax burden away from the top one percent would likely occur under McCaffery\u27s proposal—in return for speculative economic benefits for the country, in the view of many economists—which could do no more than accelerate the wealth concentration in the top one percent that has already reached record levels in recent years. Graetz proposes a two-tier tax system in which all individuals pay a VAT and those individuals earning above 100,000 also pay an income tax. The author believes that Graetz\u27s proposal, which would remove 100 million taxpayers from having to file an annual return, is extremely important, but she would attempt to accomplish what Graetz is proposing within a single tax system rather than a two-tier system
On Capital Gains and Marginal Tax Rates
Full text linkThe current tax treatment of qualified residence interest is far from perfect. The President\u27s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform\u27s proposal related to the current home mortgage interest deduction does little to advance Congress\u27 clearly-stated policy of encouraging homeowership while, at the same time, it will have an almost-certain negative effect on home prices. The author asserts that those whose home is their most valuable asset have much to fear should the Panel\u27s recommendations come to fruition
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Only Congress Can Create Deductions
Full text linkA series of recent and controversial cases has raised the issue of how plaintiffs must treat attorneys\u27 fees and costs that are paid out of otherwise includable settlement or litigation awards. Everyone seems to agree that under tax policy and theory plaintiffs should not be saddled with this burden. Many have expressed the desire that Congress amend the Code to correct the problem. The more difficult question, which the author addresses, is whether courts can act to protect these plaintiffs in the absence of Congressional action
Form, Substance, and Section 1041
Full text linkThe article reviews recent cases and rulings dealing with the interplay of section 1041 with both (1) the assignment of income doctrine in the deferred compensation context and (2) the substance over form doctrine in the context of redemptions of closely held stock. The author argues that such doctrines, which attempt to avoid improper shifting of income between taxpayers, are inappropriate in the context of section 1041 transfers in light of the history and goals of that section. She believes that final regulations adopted under section 1041 should ensure that the form of transfers or redemptions negotiated by the parties dictates the resulting tax
Cognitive Theory and the Selling of the Flat Tax
Full text linkIn this article, Professor Deborah A. Geier brings to bear the insights of Professor Edward J. McCaffery, regarding the interaction of cognitive theory and the tax world, to the flat tax proposal. The article explores how the perceptual biases described by Professor McCaffery might affect both taxpayers\u27 impressions of the contours of the proposed tax base and their behavioral reponses to the same incentive. The author warns that any errors in her application of Professor McCaffery\u27s work to the flat tax are entirely her own
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
The Death of the Death Tax ?: An Introduction
Full text linkI would like to consider the question: What brings us together today to consider the possible repeal of the estate tax? We would not likely be here today if the repeal of the estate tax were not a serious political possibility, and it would not likely be a serious political possibility if many middle-class taxpayers earning the median household income of about 50,000 per year did not support outright repeal, rather than much needed reform. The article then explains why taxpayers support outright repeal today when they would not have done so even ten years ago. The article then explains what changes in taxpayer psychology or the economy or in social attitudes accounts for support for full repeal so far down the income spectrum. The author emphasizes a shift from a cultural belief in acquisition through “good fortune” to a belief in earning through hard work, when in reality it is the opposite as people acquire most wealth through inheritance
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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