1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910782460903321

Autore

McCaffery Edward J

Titolo

Fair not flat : how to make the tax system better and simpler / / Edward J. McCaffery

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Chicago : , : University of Chicago Press, , 2002

ISBN

1-281-96601-0

9786611966010

0-226-55566-6

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xiii, 178 pages)

Disciplina

336.2/05/0973

Soggetti

Income tax - United States

Spendings tax - United States

Taxation - United States

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 167-170) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- TABLES AND FIGURES -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- INTRODUCTION. Time for a Change -- ONE. Tax Basics -- TWO. The Trouble with the Income Tax -- THREE. The Case for a Spending Tax -- FOUR. Death to Death Taxes -- FIVE. Progressivity Can Live -- SIX. The Fair Not Flat Tax -- CONCLUSION. Toward Class Teamwork, Not Class Conflict -- QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS ON THE FAIR NOT FLAT TAX -- GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS -- FURTHER READING -- INDEX

Sommario/riassunto

Everyone knows that the current tax system is unfair. Some of the richest people in America pay no tax, while a huge share of the tax burden falls on the rest of us. A mere glance at the tax code confirms that it is far too complex, with volumes of rules that no ordinary person could possibly comprehend. What is to be done? Some conservatives have called for a so-called flat tax. But a flat tax is not necessarily a simple tax, and "flat" means "more" for most taxpayers: a rise in middle-class taxes to finance tax cuts for the rich. Is there another choice? In clear, easy-to-understand language, Edward J. McCaffery proposes a straightforward and fair alternative. A "fair not flat" tax that is consistent and progressive would tax spending, not income and



savings. And if it were collected at its lower levels through a national sales tax, most people would not have to file a return. A supplemental tax on spending for the wealthiest individuals would make the national sales tax progressive. Under McCaffery's system, a family of four would pay no tax on their first