Law 798:  Federal Tax Policy

This seminar will examine the major approaches to the formulation of federal tax policy, including their political and economic ramifications. Particular consideration will be given to: tax simplification efforts and the tax legislative process; base-broadening and its potential for lowered rates; the concept of “tax expenditures” in the federal budget; and the phenomenon of taxpayer noncompliance. Current legislative proposals and significant recent legislation will be examined as well.

Sequence and Prerequisites: Income Taxation (Law 647) is a prerequisite. Specific coursework in micro-economic theory or American political institutions is not required, but some familiarity with those fields will be helpful.

Evaluation: Students are expected to prepare a research paper on some currently vital tax policy issue and to present such paper for discussion.