TY  - JOUR
AU  - Kaplow,Louis
TI  - Human Capital and the Income Tax
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 4299
PY  - 1994
Y2  - December 1994
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w4299
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w4299.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Louis Kaplow
Harvard University
Hauser 322
Cambridge, MA  02138
Tel: 617/495-4101
Fax: 617/496-4880
E-Mail: meskridge@law.harvard.edu
AB  - This article examines how to treat human capital -- perhaps the vast majority of the capital stock -- under an ideal, Haig-Simons income tax. Innate ability, investments in human capital, and uncertainty in future earnings are considered. It is demonstrated that conventional income tax treatment and proposed modifications are closer to implementing a consumption tax than an income tax. Approximating ideal income tax treatment may be feasible, but assessing its desirability would require further inquiry.
ER  -