Administering Tax Complexity Versus Simplicity
TAX SIMPLIFICATION (Chris Evans, Richard Krever, & Peter Mellor eds., 2015)
36 Pages Posted: 23 Oct 2017
Date Written: July 26, 2015
Abstract
This Essay was written for a symposium entitled Tax System Complexity, held in Prato, Italy on September 29-30, 2014. Symposium essays sought to understand, assess, and address tax system complexity and issues related thereto. The Essay describes the U.S. tax system's expansion from its original function of raising revenue to fund government operations to include administering a variety of social welfare and regulatory programs, including but not limited to tax expenditures. The Essay then considers how this expansion of the tax system's scope undermines the case for tax exceptionalism from general legal requirements, principles, and norms that govern how federal government agencies in the U.S. pursue their missions.
Keywords: tax complexity, tax simplification, administrative law
JEL Classification: K10, K19, K20, K23, K29, K34
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Kristin E. Hickman (Contact Author)
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - School of Law ( email )
229 19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
United States
612-624-2915 (Phone)
