Taxing Ourselves: A Citizen's Guide to the Debate Over Taxes

by Joel B. Slemrod, Jon Bakija, Jon M. Bakija

Book Overview

The fourth edition of a popular guide to the key issues in tax reform, discussing the current system and alternative proposals clearly and without a political agenda.

As Albert Einstein may or may not have said, "The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax." Indeed, to follow the debate over tax reform, the interested citizen is forced to choose between misleading sound bites and academic treatises. Taxing Ourselves...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0262693631
• ISBN13: 9780262693639
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Mit Press
• Length: 382 Pages
• Weight: 1.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 8.9"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

As thourough a book on tax policy as can be (and still be readable by the avg Joe).

I though about giving this book 4 stars, because it can be heavy reading at times. I decided, however, that that would be unfair because it would be impossible to discuss taxes with any sort of detail without getting heavy at times. This book makes a tough subject (taxes and tax reform) as easy as possible to understand by taking you point by point through every aspect of taxes, including: 1)Our current code and it's history 2)peoples ideas of fairness with respect to the current code and possible reform 3) Evidence about how taxes effect personal behavior 4) Evidence about how tax code effect economic behavior 4)different types of taxes 5) postivies and negatives of each as they relate to enforcement, collection, economic and personal behavior, peoples ideas of fairness and politics. 6) how other countries tax 7)an examination of a few proposed tax reforms as they apply to all of the above. If you're interested in tax reform/debate, buy this. If you've read books on the flat tax or national retail sales tax, buy this. I cannot imagine a better book to give you the basic knowledge and tools for further investigation, or help you see through the spin of political debate.

Breath of Fresh air in the tax debate

I have to hand it to Slemrod and Bakija, they cut through the intellectual garbage that dominates the debate over taxes in America, and give you a 100% unbiased look at the facts. It discusses the issues of fairness, simplicity, economic consequences, and alternatives like the flat and sales tax. This country would be a lot better off if everyone (especially politicians) read this book. Highly recommended.

Great book on complex topic!

This is a really great and readable text on what is often a challenging topic. The authors really have provided some insightful analysis on what is always a timely topic. I learned a tremendous amount and easily made my way through the flowing prose. I suggest this book for anyone interested in taxation and also for those of us who are simply "tax curious". This is a particularly relevant book given the upcoming elections!

'User-friendly' tour of tax reform

This slender volume is a readable and entertaining survey of the woes of the current income tax system and of a variety of tax reform proposals intended to replace the current system. The section of the book that discusses the tax system's effect on labor supply, saving & investment, incentive to work, international competiveness, and other economic 'macro' effects, is especially insightful. The authors conclude (probably correctly) that the tax system's effect on these things is probably marginal, and, in any event, difficult to measure empirically. Therefore, any tax reform that promises 'economic nirvana' should be taken with a grain of salt. The authors suggest, without endorsement, that the hallmarks of any new (or improved) tax system should be simplicity, enforcability, and revenue- raising efficiency; the last denotes the absence of 'social tinkering' through the tax system. Unfortunately, the authors note that all of the various tax reform proposals being floated by politicians suffer severe political defects. A national sales tax would be difficult to enforce (that's probably correct); a broad-based value added tax (VAT) would be highly regressive; the 'flat tax' (wage tax) would be less progressive than the current income tax; and the consumed income tax (consumption tax) would be more complicated than the current income tax (that's probably not correct, and the authors do not explain this assertion well). These are principally political impediments to reform- the authors suggest that it will take an act of political courage by Congress or the president to make any progress on the tax reform front. That's clearly correct, but don't hold your breath.

If you want to know about tax reform, read this book.

Tax reform isn't usually one of those topics that gets people excited -- most people view it the same way George Bush looks at broccoli. But Slemrod and Bakija do a great job of making it interesting and explaining complex ideas in simple language. If you want to know how Steve Forbes' flat tax will hit your wallet or how much the current income tax system stymies growth, this is the book for you. Simply, it is a great, great place to start to learn about tax reform. It's as good as it gets on the topic