If New York State had attempted to raise its tax revenues from 1956 to 1975 entirely without recourse to property taxes, the burden would have had to be shifted to one or more of four other major categories of taxation. This document briefly discusses the impact of two alternatives: how each of the four categories would have been affected by being…

Fundamental tax reform is examined in an overlapping-generations model in which heterogeneous agents face idiosyncratic wage shocks and longevity uncertainty. A progressive income tax is replaced with a flat consumption tax. If idiosyncratic wage shocks are insurable (i.e., no risk), this reform improves (interim) efficiency, a result consistent…

As of March 2008, over half of U.S. states are facing projected budget shortfalls for the coming fiscal year. During economic downturns such as this, opportunities available to hard-working, low-wage families are diminished. These conditions create growing concerns for policymakers who must, with fewer state resources, enhance opportunities and…

Adequate revenue is essential to the existence of good schools. Recognizing this truth, numerous governors have proposed and many states have adopted tax increases to enhance school funding. The real question is whether education spending increased more than it would have if taxes had not been increased. To answer these questions, the booklet was…

The complexity of the federal tax code has been the focus of reform efforts for decades, and has received considerable attention in the economic literature. The federal system for distributing student financial aid is similarly convoluted, yet has received relatively little attention from economists. For the typical household, the aid application…