Attached please find NBER Working Paper 12061, "Taxation," by Louis Kaplow.
The paper was subsequently published in the Handbook of Law and Economics,
Vol. 2, A. Mitchell Polinsky and Steven Shavell, eds., North-Holland (2007).
Abstract: This Handbook entry presents a conceptual, normative overview of
the subject of taxation. It emphasizes the relationships among the main
functions of taxation -- notably, raising revenue, redistributing income,
and correcting externalities -- and the mapping between these functions and
various forms of taxation. Different types of taxation as well as
expenditures on transfers and public goods are each integrated into a
common optimal tax framework with the income tax and commodity taxes at the
core. Additional topics addressed include a range of dynamic issues, the
unit of taxation, tax administration and enforcement, and tax equity.
Laura Bethard
Publications/Working Papers
National Bureau of Economic Research
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 588-1403
Received on Fri Feb 29 2008 - 15:41:09 EST
