Taxing “the rich” is an easy sell. The task of rebuilding government finances, we are told, requires wealthier people to “pay a fair share” of the burden. But are high taxes really fair? Is this a moral campaign—or a deeply immoral one?

It is morally concerning that taxes are taken from us by force. Force is something we want less of, not more. Nearly everyone would happily support basic services like defense, infrastructure, even welfare. But, as the 19th-century French politician and author Frédéric Bastiat pointed out, as taxes rise, people come to see themselves not as willing social contributors but as victims of exploitation. Then it takes even greater force to make them pay.

via Eamonn Butler: The Moral Case Against Soaking the Rich – WSJ.com.

Here’s (most of) the syllabus:

1. Report of the President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform (2005) pp. 1-40
2. Stanley S. Surrey, The Congress and the Tax Lobbyist – How Special Tax Provisions Get Enacted, 70 HARV. L. REV. 1445 (1957)
3. Boris Bittker, A Comprehensive Tax Base As A Goal of Income Tax Reform, 80 HARV. L. REV. 925 (1967)
4. William D. Andrews, Personal Deductions in an Ideal Income Tax, 86 HARV. L. REV. 309 (1972)
5. William D. Andrews, A Consumption-Type or Cash Flow Personal Income Tax, 87 HARV. L. REV. 1113 (1974)
6. Joseph Bankman & Thomas Griffith, Social Welfare and the Rate Structure: A New Look at Progressive Taxation, 75 CAL. L. REV. 1905 (1987)
7. Charles E. McClure, Jr., Integration of the Personal and Corporate Income Taxes: The Missing Element in Recent Tax Reform Proposals, 88 HARV. L. REV. 532 (1975).
8. Jeffrey H. Birnbaum & Alan S. Murray, SHOWDOWN AT GUCCI GULCH: LAWMAKERS, LOBBYISTS, AND THE UNLIKELY TRIUMPH OF TAX REFORM.
9. Evaluate the work of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (reading tba)

And, if anyone finds it useful, a brief bibliography we’re using:

Bibliography

Ideal Income Tax Base

1. Stanley S. Surrey, The Congress and the Tax Lobbyist: How Special Tax Provisions Get Enacted, 70 Harvard Law Review 1145-1182 (1957).
2. Boris I. Bittker, A “Comprehensive Tax Base” as a Goal of Income Tax Reform, 80 Harvard Law Review 925-985 (1967).
3. Boris I. Bittker, Comprehensive Income Taxation: A Response, 81 Harvard Law Review 1032-1043 (1968).
4. Stanley S. Surrey, Tax Incentives as a Device for Implementing Government Policy: A Comparison with Direct Government Expenditures, 83 Harvard Law Review 705-738 (1970).
5. William D. Andrews, Personal Deductions in an Ideal Income Tax, 86 Harvard Law Review 309-385 (1972).
6. Daniel I Halperin, Business Deduction for Personal Living Expenses:  A Uniform Approach to an Unsolved Problem, 122 U. Pa. L. Rev. 859 (1973).
7. Mark G. Kelman, Personal Deductions Revisited: Why They Fit Poorly in an Ideal Income Tax and Why They Fit Worse in a Far from Ideal World, 31 Stan. L. Rev. 831 (1978).
8. Glenn E Coven, Decline and Fall of Taxable Income, The, 79 Mich. L. Rev. 1525 (1980).
9. Edward A Zelinsky, Efficiency and Income Taxes:  The Rehabilitation of Tax Incentives, 64 Tex. L. Rev. 973 (1985).
10. Mark P Gergen, Case for a Charitable Contributions Deduction, The, 74 Va. L. Rev. 1393 (1988).
11. Daniel Shaviro, Man Who Lost too Much: Zarin v. Commissioner and the Measurement of Taxable Consumption, The, 45 Tax L. Rev. 215 (1989).
12. Louis Kaplow, Human Capital under an Ideal Income Tax, 80 Va. L. Rev. 1477 (1994).
13. Eric M Zolt, Uneasy Case for Uniform Taxation, The, 16 Va. Tax Rev. 39 (1996).
14. Mary Louise Fellows, Rocking the Tax Code: A Case Study of Employment-Related Child-Care Expenditures, 10 Yale J.L. & Feminism 307 (1998).
15. David A Weisbach & Jacob Nussim, Integration of Tax and Spending Programs, The, 113 Yale L.J. 955 (2003).
16. Lawrence Zelenak, Taxing Endowment, 55 Duke L.J. 1145 (2005).
17. Lily L Batchelder, Fred T. Jr Goldberg & Peter R Orzag, Efficiency and Tax Incentives: The Case for Refundable Tax Credits, 59 Stan. L. Rev. 23 (2006).

Income Tax vs. Consumption Tax

1. William D. Andrews, A Consumption-Type or Cash Flow Personal Income Tax, 87 Harvard Law Review 1113-1188 (1974).
2. William D. Andrews, Fairness and the Personal Income Tax: A Reply to Professor Warren, 88 Harvard Law Review 947-958 (1975).
3. Alvin C. Warren, Fairness and a Consumption-Type or Cash Flow Personal Income Tax, 88 Harvard Law Review 931-946 (1975).
4. William A Klein, Timing in Personal Taxation, 6 J. Legal Stud. 461 (1977).
5. Michael J Graetz, Implementing a Progressive Consumption Tax, 92 Harv. L. Rev. 1575 (1978).
6. Alan Gunn, Case for an Income Tax, The, 46 U. Chi. L. Rev. 370 (1978).
7. Alvin Warren, Would a Consumption Tax Be Fairer Than an Income Tax?, 89 The Yale Law Journal 1081-1124 (1980).
8. Richard L Doernberg, Workable Flat Rate Consumption Tax, A, 70 Iowa L. Rev. 425 (1984).
9. Jeff Strnad, Taxation of Income from Capital: A Theoretical Reappraisal, 37 Stan. L. Rev. 1023 (1984).
10. Barbara H Fried, Fairness and the Consumption Tax, 44 Stan. L. Rev. 961 (1991).
11. Edward J McCaffery, Tax Policy under a Hybrid Income-Consumption Tax, 70 Tex. L. Rev. 1145 (1991).
12. Louis Kaplow, Human Capital under an Ideal Income Tax, 80 Va. L. Rev. 1477 (1994).
13. Daniel Shaviro, Risk-Based Rules and the Taxation of Capital Income, 50 Tax L. Rev. 643 (1994).
14. Noel B Cunningham, Taxation of Capital Income and the Choice of Tax Base, The, 52 Tax L. Rev. 17 (1996).
15. Deborah H Schenk, Saving the Income Tax with a Wealth Tax, 53 Tax L. Rev. 423 (1999).
16. David A Weisbach, Ironing Out the Flat Tax, 52 Stan. L. Rev. 599 (1999).
17. Edward J McCaffery, New Understanding of Tax, A, 103 Mich. L. Rev. 807 (2004).
18. Joseph Bankman & David A Weisbach, Superiority of an Ideal Consumption Tax over an Ideal Income Tax, The, 58 Stan. L. Rev. 1413 (2005).

Dual Income Tax

1. Harvey E Brazer, Federal Income Tax and the Poor: Where Do We Go From Here, The, 57 Cal. L. Rev. 422 (1969).
2. Eric M Zolt, Uneasy Case for Uniform Taxation, The, 16 Va. Tax Rev. 39 (1996).
3. Charles E. Jr McLure, Simplicity of the Flat Tax: Is It Unique, The, 14 Am. J. Tax Pol’y 283 (1997).
4. Peggy B Musgrave, Consumption Tax Proposals in an International Setting, 54 Tax L. Rev. 77 (2000).
5. Richard M Bird & Eric M Zolt, Redistribution via Taxation: The Limited Role of the Personal Income Tax in Developing Countries, 52 UCLA L. Rev. 1627 (2004).
6. Richard M Bird & Eric M Zolt, Dual Income Taxation and Developing Countries, 1 Colum. J. Tax L. 174 (2010).
7. Edward D Kleinbard, American Dual Income Tax: Nordic Precedents, An, 5 Nw. J. L. & Soc. Pol’y 41 (2010).

Progressivity

1. Walter J Blum & Harry Jr Kalven, Uneasy Case for Progressive Taxation, The, 19 U. Chi. L. Rev. 417 (1951).
2. Marjorie E Kornhauser, Rhetoric of the Anti-Progressive Income Tax Movement: A Typical Male Reaction, The, 86 Mich. L. Rev. 465 (1987).
3. Joseph Bankman & Thomas Griffith, Social Welfare and the Rate Structure: A New Look At Progressive Taxation, 75 California Law Review 1905-1967 (1987).
4. Daniel N Shaviro, Selective Limitations on Tax Benefits, 56 U. Chi. L. Rev. 1189 (1989).
5. Mark L Ascher, Curtailing Inherited Wealth, 89 Mich. L. Rev. 69 (1990).
6. Steven A Bank, Origins of a Flat Tax, 73 Denv. U. L. Rev. 329 (1995).
7. Martin J. Jr McMahon & Alice G Abreu, Winner-Take-All Markets: Easing the Case for Progressive Taxation, 4 Fla. Tax Rev. 1 (1998).
8. Barbara H Fried, Puzzling Case for Proportionate Taxation, The, 2 Chap. L. Rev. 157 (1999).
9. Lawrence Zelenak & Kemper Moreland, Can the Graduated Income Tax Survive Optimal Tax Analysis, 53 Tax L. Rev. 51 (1999).
10. Thomas D Griffith, Progressive Taxation and Happiness, 45 B.C. L. Rev. 1363 (2003).
11. Linda Sugin, Theories of Distributive Justice and Limitations on Taxation: What Rawls Demands from Tax Systems, 72 Fordham L. Rev. 1991 (2003).
12. Marjorie E Kornhauser, Choosing a Tax Rate Structure in the Face of Disagreement, 52 UCLA L. Rev. 1697 (2004).
13. Edward J McCaffery, New Understanding of Tax, A, 103 Mich. L. Rev. 807 (2004).
14. Louis Kaplow, Taxation and Redistribution: Some Clarifications, 60 Tax L. Rev. 57 (2006).

Corporate Integration

1. William D. Andrews, “Out of Its Earnings and Profits”: Some Reflections on the Taxation of Dividends, 69 Harvard Law Review 1403-1439 (1956).
2. Alvin C. Warren, The Deductibility by Individuals of Capital Losses under the Federal Income Tax, 40 The University of Chicago Law Review 291-326 (1973).
3. Alvin C. Warren, The Corporate Interest Deduction: A Policy Evaluation, 83 The Yale Law Journal 1585-1619 (1974).
4. Robert Charles Clark, Morphogenesis of Subchapter C: An Essay in Statutory Evolution and Reform, The, 87 Yale L.J. 90 (1977).
5. Alvin Warren, The Relation and Integration of Individual and Corporate Income Taxes, 94 Harvard Law Review 717-800 (1981).
6. David J Shakow, Wither, C, 45 Tax L. Rev. 177 (1989).
7. Hideki Kanda & Saul Levmore, Taxes, Agency Costs, and the Price of Incorporation, 77 Va. L. Rev. 211 (1991).
8. George K Yin, Corporate Tax Integration and the Search for the Pragmatic Ideal, 47 Tax L. Rev. 431 (1991).
9. Alvin C. Warren, Financial Contract Innovation and Income Tax Policy, 107 Harvard Law Review 460-492 (1993).
10. Jennifer Arlen & Deborah M Weiss, Political Theory of Corporate Taxation, A, 105 Yale L.J. 325 (1995).
11. Reuven S Avi-Yonah, Corporations, Society, and the State: A Defense of the Corporate Tax, 90 Va. L. Rev. 1193 (2004).

Tax Planning

1. Daniel N Shaviro, Efficiency Analysis of Realization and Recognition Rules under the Federal Income Tax, An, 48 Tax L. Rev. 1 (1992).
2. Alvin C. Warren, Financial Contract Innovation and Income Tax Policy, 107 Harvard Law Review 460 (1993).
3. Daniel Shaviro, Risk-Based Rules and the Taxation of Capital Income, 50 Tax L. Rev. 643 (1994).
4. David A Weisbach, Line Drawing Doctrine and Efficiency in the Tax Law, 84 Cornell L. Rev. 1627 (1998).
5. David M Schizer, Frictions as a Constraint on Tax Planning, 101 Colum. L. Rev. 1312 (2001).
6. Michael S Knoll, Put-Call Parity and the Law, 24 Cardozo L. Rev. 61 (2002).
7. Deborah H Schenk, Efficiency Approach to Reforming a Realization-Based Tax, An, 57 Tax L. Rev. 503 (2003).
8. Deborah H Schenk, Positive Account of the Realization Rule, A, 57 Tax L. Rev. 355 (2003).
9. Alex Raskolnikov, Relational Tax Planning under Risk-Based Rules, 156 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1181 (2007).
10. Daniel Shaviro, Optimal Relationship between Taxable Income and Financial Accounting Income: Analysis and a Proposal, The, 97 Geo. L.J. 423 (2008).
11. Victor Fleischer, Regulatory Arbitrage, 89 Tex. L. Rev. 227 (2010).

Tax Legislative Process

1. Stanley S. Surrey, The Congress and the Tax Lobbyist: How Special Tax Provisions Get Enacted, 70 Harvard Law Review 1145 (1957).
2. Boris I. Bittker, Income Tax “Loopholes” and Political Rhetoric, 71 Michigan Law Review 1099 (1973).
3. Richard L Doernberg et al., On the Accelerating Rate and Decreasing Durability of Tax Reform, 71 Minn. L. Rev. 913 (1986).
4. Julie A Roin, United They Stand Divided They Fall: Public Choice Theory and the Tax Code, 74 Cornell L. Rev. 62 (1988).
5. Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, Alan S. Murray, Showdown at Gucci Gulch: lawmakers, lobbyists, and the unlikely triumph of tax reform (1988).
6. Daniel Shaviro, Beyond Public Choice and Public Interest:  A Study of the Legislative Process as Illustrated by Tax Legislation In the 1980s, 139 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1 (1990).
7. Edward A Zelinsky, James Madison and Public Choice at Gucci Gulch: A Procedural Defense of Tax Expenditures and Tax Institutions, 102 Yale L.J. 1165 (1992).
8. Jennifer Arlen et al., Political Theory of Corporate Taxation, A, 105 Yale L.J. 325 (1995).
9. Michael J Graetz, Paint-by-Numbers Tax Lawmaking, 95 Colum. L. Rev. 609 (1995).
10. Elizabeth Garrett, Harnessing Politics:  The Dynamics of Offset Requirements in the Tax Legislative Process, 65 U. Chi. L. Rev. 501 (1998).
11. Daniel N Shaviro, Rethinking Tax Expenditures and Fiscal Language, 57 Tax L. Rev. 187 (2003).
12. David A Weisbach et al., Integration of Tax and Spending Programs, The, 113 Yale L.J. 955 (2003).

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I’ll be presenting the paper at the Law & Entrepreneurship conference at the University of Florida on Friday.

On Monday, February 28, I will present the paper at an event sponsored by the Rock Corporate Governance Center at Stanford.  That event is open to the public, but registration is required.  More details here.