BLUEPRINTS AND PATHWAYS: THE SHIFTING FOUNDATIONS OF TAX REFORM

1 December 1985

journal article
research article
Published by University of Chicago Press in National Tax Journal

Vol. 38 (4) , 423-445
https://doi.org/10.1086/ntj41792105

Abstract

Less than two decades ago, there was a broad consensus among economists concerned with the design and reform of tax systems. Today this consensus has broken down. The theory of equitable taxation has been challenged by the competing theories of optimal taxation and fiscal exchange. The paper examines the analytical foundations of the three approaches and comments on their influence on recent reform proposals. Implications for tax policy and design are summarized in a set of tables. The paper also analyzes the second-best nature of partial tax reform and comments on the possibilities of a synthesis among traditions.

Keywords

This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:

Partial Tax Reform: An Optimal Taxation Perspective
Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, 1985
The Individual, Political Tension, and Canada's Quest for a New Constitution
Canadian Public Policy, 1980