A Primer on Replacing the Corporate Income Tax with a Cash-Flow Tax

Abstract

In this report, Edwards argues that the corporate income tax shares a substantial part of the blame for recent scandals at Enron and other large firms. At the same time, he says, there is growing concern about the uncompetitiveness and excessive complexity of the U.S. corporate tax. Proposals being considered in the Ways and Means Committee address some of these problems, but, Edwards concludes, full replacement of the current tax with a cash-flow tax would be a more fundamental solution to reducing tax sheltering and increasing business efficiency in today's competitive global economy.