TY  - JOUR
AU  - Fullerton,Don
TI  - Inputs to Tax Policymaking: The Supply Side, the Deficit, and the Level Playing Field
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 3507
PY  - 1994
Y2  - September 1994
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w3507
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w3507.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Don Fullerton
Department of Finance
University of Illinois
BIF Box#30 (MC520)
515 East Gregory Drive
Champaign, IL  61820
Tel: 217/244-3621
Fax: 217/244-3102
E-Mail: dfullert@illinois.edu
AB  - Although supply side theory may have been obvious to economists, it instigated a major change in the nature of tax policymaking through marginal rate cuts in both the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 and the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Also, the 1981 bill was the culmination of an era in which policymakers could use expected revenue increases to enact rate cuts as well as special tax provisions. The deficit became a force in tax policymaking not only because of revenue losses from the 1981 bill, but because the indexation of rate brackets turned projected future surpluses into projected future deficits. Finally, starting in 1982, the legacy of special tax provisions led to cries for a level playing field that would treat similar taxpayers more equally and improve efficiency in the allocation of resources.
ER  -