Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 5 of 5
Full-Text Articles in Law
The Fiscal Revolution And Taxation: The Rise Of Compensatory Taxation, 1929-1938, Joseph J. Thorndike
The Fiscal Revolution And Taxation: The Rise Of Compensatory Taxation, 1929-1938, Joseph J. Thorndike
Law and Contemporary Problems
Thorndike explores the Keynesian conversion of Treasury Department tax-policy experts during the 1930s. At the beginning of the Great Depression, he narrates that there was no political interest in using tax cuts to promote economic recovery. In fact, in 1932 Congress responded to the economic emergency by enacting a tax increase in the name of fiscal responsibility. By 1937, however, Treasury experts had become persuaded of the merits of countercyclical taxation. Ironically, the first legislative experiment in Keynesian taxation took the form of a tax increase--the short-lived 1937 tax on undistributed corporate profits, intended to stimulate the economy by discouraging …
Proposition 13 And The California Fiscal Shell Game, Colin H. Mccubbins, Mathew D. Mccubbins
Proposition 13 And The California Fiscal Shell Game, Colin H. Mccubbins, Mathew D. Mccubbins
Faculty Scholarship
We study the effects of California’s tax and expenditure limitations, especially Proposition 13. We find that Proposition 13 was indeed effective at reducing both ad valorem property taxes per capita and total state and local taxes per capita, at least in the short run. We further argue that there have been unintended second- ary effects that have resulted in an increased tax burden, undermining the aims of Proposition 13. To circumvent the limits imposed by Proposition 13, the state has drastically increased nonguaranteed debt, has privatized the public fisc, and has devolved the authority to lay and collect taxes and …
Making Mountains Of Debt Out Of Molehills: The Pro-Cyclical Implications Of Tax And Expenditure Limitations, Mathew D. Mccubbins, Ellen Moule
Making Mountains Of Debt Out Of Molehills: The Pro-Cyclical Implications Of Tax And Expenditure Limitations, Mathew D. Mccubbins, Ellen Moule
Faculty Scholarship
This paper presents evidence that property tax limits have detrimental effects on state and local revenues during recessions. Property tax limits cause states to rely on income–elastic revenue sources, such as the income tax or charges and fees. Greater reliance on these revenue sources results in greater revenue declines during economic downturns. We present analysis of time–series, cross–sectional data for the U.S. states for each of these conclusions. Our results suggest that states would have fewer and more modest financial problems during economic downturns if they did not enact property tax limitations.
Complex Tax Legislation In The Turbotax Era, Lawrence A. Zelenak
Complex Tax Legislation In The Turbotax Era, Lawrence A. Zelenak
Faculty Scholarship
When tax returns were prepared with pencil and paper—in an era now gone forever—Congress did not impose income tax provisions of great computational complexity on large numbers of taxpayers, in the belief that it was unreasonable to require average taxpayers (or their paid preparers) to struggle with computationally complex provisions. As return preparation software gradually replaced the pencil in recent decades, the complexity constraint weakened and eventually disappeared. Congress has responded by imposing unprecedented computational complexity on large numbers of taxpayers—primarily through the expanded scope of the alternative minimum tax and the proliferation of phase outs of credits, deductions, and …
The Accidental Deduction: A History And Critique Of The Tax Subsidy For Mortgage Interest, Dennis J. Ventry Jr.
The Accidental Deduction: A History And Critique Of The Tax Subsidy For Mortgage Interest, Dennis J. Ventry Jr.
Law and Contemporary Problems
Ventry traces the mortgage interest deduction from accident to birthright, from one of many deductible personal interest items to one of the few still standing, and from a negligible tax offset to the second most expensive tax subsidy. He examines the origins of the deduction for personal interest alongside the birth of the modern federal income tax and concludes that the deduction had nothing to do with encouraging or rewarding home ownership. Moreover, he also examines national rates of home ownership during depression, war, and postwar affluence. Home ownership rates stagnated and then receded during the Great Depression, with the …