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Despite our limitations as forecasters, economists are prone to thinking about the future. A declining number of economists see a future for capital income taxation. The disenchantment with capital income taxes is not new, of course. Joseph Pechman's 1990 presidential address to the American Economic Association had a title similar to mine ('The Future of the Income Tax'), and took on many of the issues I will address here. Pechman concluded that 'there is no good reason for the disenchantment of economists with the income tax. The main rival of the income tax - the consumption expenditure tax - is distinctly inferior on theoretical as well as practical grounds.'
Authors
Research Associate University of California, Berkeley
Alan is a Research Associate of the IFS and the Robert D. Burch Professor of Economics and Law, University of California, Berkeley.
Report details
- Publisher
- IFS
Suggested citation
Auerbach, A. (2006). The future of capital income taxation. London: IFS. Available at: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/future-capital-income-taxation (accessed: 25 April 2024).
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