Taxation

Harvard Law and Economics Discussion Paper No. 542

HANDBOOK OF LAW AND ECONOMICS, Polinksy, Shavell, eds., Elsevier, Forthcoming

118 Pages Posted: 31 Jul 2006

See all articles by Louis Kaplow

Louis Kaplow

Harvard Law School; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Abstract

This Handbook entry presents a conceptual, normative overview of the subject oftaxation. It emphasizes the relationships among the main functions of taxation - notably, raisingrevenue, redistributing income, and correcting externalities - and the mapping between thesefunctions and various forms of taxation. Different types of taxation as well as expenditures ontransfers and public goods are each integrated into a common optimal tax framework with theincome tax and commodity taxes at the core. Additional topics addressed include a range ofdynamic issues, the unit of taxation, tax administration and enforcement, and tax equity.

JEL Classification: H00, H20, H21, H23, H24, H26,H41, H43, H53, H55

Suggested Citation

Kaplow, Louis, Taxation. Harvard Law and Economics Discussion Paper No. 542, HANDBOOK OF LAW AND ECONOMICS, Polinksy, Shavell, eds., Elsevier, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=921424

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