National Tax Journal articles from September 1995

National Tax Journal archives from September 1995

The balanced budget amendment: needed? effective? efficient?(A New Agenda - Old Constraints)
September 1, 1995... The narrow defeat in March 1995 of the proposed constitutional amendment to require an annually balanced budget did not kill it. Only an improbably large and quick shift in the political climate can prevent its return in the near future as a...

Balanced budget rules and fiscal policy: evidence from the states.(A New Agenda - Old Constraints)
September 1, 1995... The persistence of fiscal deficits in many industrial democracies has spawned a vast theoretical literature in political economy on why nations run budget deficits, along with a sharp policy debate concerning fiscal institutions that might reduce...

Will curbs on unfunded mandates protect states from the impact of a federal balanced budget amendment?(A New Agenda - Old Constraints)
September 1, 1995... OVERVIEW The events that unfolded in the fall of 1994--the Contract with America and the new Republican majority in both houses of Congress--focused renewed attention on the potential for a constitutional amendment requiring a federal balanced...

Clarifying confusion about the balanced budget amendment.(A New Agenda - Old Constraints)
September 1, 1995... HOW AND WHY WE GOT HERE The structural flaw in our fiscal politics reflected in the regime of continuing budget deficits did not arise in the 1980s, and it will not go away in the ordinary politics of the 1990s and beyond. The structural flaw...

Should the U.S. adopt formula apportionment?(A New Agenda - Old Constraints)
September 1, 1995... Although most voters have forgotten President Clinton's campaign promise to raise $40 billion per year by cracking down on transfer pricing abuses, in the tax policy world spirited debate continues over whether the United States should adopt...

Is it time for a consumption tax?(A New Agenda - Old Constraints)
September 1, 1995... The drumbeat in America is rolling that radical surgery must be done on the U.S. tax system. We are told that the current U.S. tax system is "irretrievably broken," that "it can't be fixed," and that nothing short of a complete overhaul of this...

The tax restructuring phenomenon: analytical principles and political equation.(A New Agenda - Old Constraints)
September 1, 1995... INTRODUCTION There is a high likelihood that the federal income tax of today will soon be replaced by a new American tax system.(1) The long reign of federal income tax has had an enormous impact on the daily lives and behavior of 250 million...

Should small businesses be tax-favored?(A New Agenda - Old Constraints)
September 1, 1995... INTRODUCTION Americans love small businesses. "Startup," "family," and other small-scale businesses retain a fascination in the minds of the public and policy makers alike. This durable affection defies easy summary, but it stems at least in...

Economic development in a global context: implications of the Uruguay Round for federal tax policy.(A New Agenda - Old Constraints)
September 1, 1995... ENDOGENOUS COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE AND THE CHALLENGE FOR TAX POLICY International trade and investment can alter fundamentally the impact of tax policy on both efficiency and distribution. Continuing liberalization of trade in goods;...

"Gimme shelter?" Closely held corporations since tax reform.(A New Agenda - Old Constraints)
September 1, 1995... The Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA86) changed a large number of incentives facing individuals and corporations. One area where individual and corporate tax incentives interact the most is in the tax treatment of closely held businesses,(1) where...

Centralizing educational responsibility in Michigan and other states: new constraints on states and localities.(A New Agenda - Old Constraints)
September 1, 1995... INTRODUCTION Many states continue to wrestle with the fundamental policy problem of providing for an equitable and efficient level of primary and secondary education while recognizing both an appropriate role for local school districts and the...

The implications for tax policy of uncertainty about labor-supply and savings responses.(A New Agenda - Old Constraints)
September 1, 1995... INTRODUCTION When economists predict the economic effects of tax policies, uncertainty is inevitable and yet is often ignored. How people and firms respond to changes in the tax base or tax rates can greatly influence the revenue, efficiency,...

Taxes, capital gains realizations, and revenues: a critical review and some new results.(A New Agenda - Old Constraints)
September 1, 1995... A capital gains tax cut is once again on the legislative agenda. Proponents of a tax cut claim that it will lead to increased saving and investment, increased entrepreneurial activity, and consequently higher government revenues. Unlike in...

Behavioral feedback effects and the revenue-estimating process.(A New Agenda - Old Constraints)
September 1, 1995... Incorporating behavioral or economic feedback effects in revenue estimates for federal tax revisions has attracted increasing attention, most recently with proposed tax reductions in the "Contract with America" advanced by the newly elected House...