The Review will be published in two volumes. The first, Tax by Design, sets out the conclusions of the Review. The second, Dimensions of Tax Design, consists of a set of commissioned chapters dealing with different aspects of the tax system. Each chapter will be accompanied by a series of commentaries by different expert authors, voicing differing opinions on the issue discussed. Both volumes will be published by Oxford University Press in 2009.

Tax by Design

The first volume presents a picture of coherent tax reform whose aim is to identify the characteristics of a good tax system for any open developed economy, to assess the extent to which the UK tax system conforms to these ideals, and to recommend how it might realistically be reformed in that direction. Drawing on the expert evidence from the commissioned chapters and commentaries, it provides an integrated view of tax reform.

Dimensions of Tax Design

The second volume consists of a set of thirteen commissioned studies which draw on the latest thinking in each area. It brings together a high-profile group of international experts and younger researchers to assess the dimensions of tax design in a number of key areas for the Review. These are supplemented by expert commentaries to provide the widest range of views and ideas across a wide range of questions in tax design.

Pre-publication drafts (which may therefore contain errors) of chapters in this volume are available here:

1. Taxation in the UK

AUTHORS: Stuart Adam; James Browne; Christopher Heady
COMMENTATOR: Chris Evans

• Taxation in the UK; Stuart Adam (Institute for Fiscal Studies), James Browne (Institute for Fiscal Studies) and Christopher Heady (OECD)
• Commentary; Chris Evans (Atax, University of New South Wales)

2. Means testing and tax rates on earnings

AUTHORS: Mike Brewer; Emmanuel Saez; Andrew Shephard
COMMENTATORS: Hilary Hoynes; Guy Laroque; Robert Moffitt

• Means-testing and tax rates on earnings; Mike Brewer (Institute for Fiscal Studies), Emmanuel Saez (UC Berkeley) and Andrew Shephard (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London)
• Commentary; Hilary Hoynes (University of California, Davis)
• Commentary; Guy Laroque (University College London and Insee-Crest, Paris)
• Commentary, Robert Moffitt (Johns Hopkins)
• Press release

3. Labour supply and taxes

AUTHORS: Costas Meghir; David Phillips

• Labour supply and taxes; Costas Meghir (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London) and David Phillips (Institute for Fiscal Studies)

4. Value added tax and excises

AUTHORS: Ian Crawford; Michael Keen; Stephen Smith
COMMENTATORS: Richard Bird; Sijbren Cnossen; Ian Dickson; Jonathan Gruber; David White

• Value added tax and excises; Ian Crawford (Oxford University and IFS), Michael Keen (International Monetary Fund) and Stephen Smith (University College London and IFS)
• Commentary; Richard Bird (University of Toronto)
• Commentary; Ian Dickson (Burleigh Evatt) and David White (Victoria University of Wellington)
• Commentary; Sijbren Cnossen (CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Analysis)
• Commentary; Jonathan Gruber (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
• Press release

5. Environmental taxes

AUTHORS: Don Fullerton; Andrew Leicester; Stephen Smith
COMMENTATORS: Paul Johnson; Agnar Sandmo; Nicholas Stern

• Environmental taxes; Don Fullerton (University of Illinois), Andrew Leicester (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London) and Stephen Smith (University College London and Institute for Fiscal Studies)
• Environmental taxes: appendix; Don Fullerton (University of Illinois), Andrew Leicester (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London) and Stephen Smith (University College London and Institute for Fiscal Studies)
• Commentary; Paul Johnson (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Frontier Economics) and Nicholas Stern (House of Lords and London School of Economics)
• Commentary; Agnar Sandmo (Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration)
• Press release

6. The base for direct taxation

AUTHORS: James Banks; Peter Diamond
COMMENTATORS: Robert Hall; John Kay; Pierre Pestieau

• The base for direct taxation; James Banks (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London) and Peter Diamond (MIT)
• Commentary; Robert Hall (Stanford University)
• Commentary; John Kay
• Commentary; Pierre Pestieau (University of Liège)

7. Taxation of wealth and wealth transfers

AUTHORS: Robin Boadway; Emma Chamberlain; Carl Emmerson
COMMENTATORS: Helmuth Cremer; Thomas Piketty; Martin Weale

• Taxation of wealth and wealth transfers; Robin Boadway (Queen's University, Ontario), Emma Chamberlain (CIOT) and Carl Emmerson (Institute for Fiscal Studies)
• Taxation of wealth and wealth transfers: appendices; Robin Boadway (Queen's University, Ontario), Emma Chamberlain (CIOT) and Carl Emmerson (Institute for Fiscal Studies)
• Commentary; Helmuth Cremer (IDEI, University of Toulouse I)
• Commentary; Thomas Piketty (ENS-EHESS)
• Commentary; Martin Weale (NIESR)

8. The effects on consumption and saving of taxing asset returns

AUTHORS: Orazio Attanasio; Matthew Wakefield

• The effects on consumption and saving of taxing asset returns; Orazio Attanasio (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London) and Matthew Wakefield (Institute for Fiscal Studies)

9. Taxing corporate income

AUTHORS: Alan Auerbach; Michael Devereux; Helen Simpson
COMMENTATORS: Harry Huizinga; Jack Mintz

• Taxing corporate income; Alan Auerbach (University of California, Berkeley), Michael Devereux (University of Oxford and Institute for Fiscal Studies) and Helen Simpson (CMPO and Institute for Fiscal Studies)
• Commentary; Harry Huizinga (Tilburg University)
• Commentary; Jack Mintz (University of Calgary)
• Press release

10. International capital taxation

AUTHORS: Rachel Griffith; James Hines; Peter Birch Sørensen
COMMENTATORS: Julian Alworth; Roger Gordon; Jerry Hausman

• International capital taxation; Rachel Griffith (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London), James Hines (University of Michigan) and Peter Birch Sørensen (Univerity of Copenhagen)
• Commentary; Julian Alworth (Said Business School, Oxford)
• Commentary; Roger Gordon (University of California, San Diego) and Jerry Hausman (MIT)
• Press release

11. Small business taxation

AUTHORS: Claire Crawford; Judith Freedman

• Small business taxation; Claire Crawford (Institute for Fiscal Studies) and Judith Freedman (Worcester College, Oxford and Institute for Fiscal Studies)

12. Administration and compliance

AUTHORS: Jonathan Shaw; Joel Slemrod; John Whiting
COMMENTATORS: John Hasseldine; Richard Highfield; Brian Mace

• Administration and compliance; Jonathan Shaw (Institute for Fiscal Studies), Joel Slemrod (University of Michigan) and John Whiting (PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Chartered Institute of Taxation)
• Commentary; John Hasseldine (University of Nottingham)
• Commentary; Richard Highfield (OECD)
• Commentary; Brian Mace (Tax Law Review Committee and formerly Inland Revenue)

13. The political economy of tax policy

AUTHORS: James Alt; Ian Preston; Luke Sibieta
COMMENTATORS: Peter Riddell; Guido Tabellini; Chris Wales

• The political economy of tax policy; James Alt (Harvard University ), Ian Preston (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London) and Luke Sibieta (Institute for Fiscal Studies)
• Commentary; Peter Riddell (The Times)
• Commentary; Guido Tabellini (University of Bocconi)
• Commentary; Chris Wales (Lucida plc)

The Review is funded by the Nuffield Foundation and the ESRC.