Show or hide comments about the document.
Search over the document's text.
Share the document through social networks or e-mail.
After selecting an area on the page.
...you can:
copy the text
share the segment
comment
cite the document

Spring 2013

ISSN 0890-913X

Volume 28, Number 2

Categories: Spring 2013 | Politics

The Case for Abolishing Federal Taxation

Richard Alm, Southern Methodist University

Dwight R. Lee, University of Georgia and Ball State University

Download

e-mail

<< Back to editing
Previous version by
<< Older
Newer >>
Revert to this one

Edit
Cancel
Fullscreen

Show comments
Zoom:
Page: / 13

Line spacing:
Word spacing:

Search:FindClose

search results

TheJournalofPrivateEnterprise28(2),2013,125–137TheCaseforAbolishingFederalTaxationRichardAlmSouthernMethodistUniversityDwightR.LeeSouthernMethodistUniversityAbstractAbolishingfederaltaxationwoulddramaticallyaltertheincentivesthatincreasespendingandtaxing.Statetaxationwould:1)discouragewastefulKeynesianpoliciesaimedatfine-tuningtheeconomy,2)encouragefederalauthoritiestospendtaxmoneyonlyonactivitiesprovidingnationalbenefits,3)reduceincentivesfortherent-seekingthatleadstowastefulspendingatallgovernmentlevels,4)converteachstate’sincentivetofreerideoffotherstates’taxpaymentsintoanincentivetoreplacewastefuloutlayswithproductivespending,5)intensifycompetitionbetweenstatesandminimizethedead-weightlossoftaxation,and6)reducethesocialdivisivenessofpoliticalplunder.JELCode:H2Keywords:Federaltaxation;Statetaxation;Federalism;Rentseeking;TaxreformI.IntroductionOverthepast100years,thepowertotaxhasbeenshiftinginonedirection—towardthefederalgovernmentandawayfromstateandlocalgovernments.Diminishedfreedomtocontrolourliveshasfollowedcloselybehind.Wekeepasmallerpercentageofourearnings,wefacegreatergovernmentintrusionsintodecisionsthatusedtobeconsideredprivate,andwehavebecomeincreasinglydependenton,anddisappointedwith,governmentatalllevels.Asgovernmenthasassumedresponsibilitytosolvemoreofourproblems,federalandstateauthoritieshavepromisedsomuchandperformedsopoorlythatfewoftheirpromisescanbekeptandfewoftheirsolutionshaveworked.Despitethedisappointment,however,governmentexpansionhascreatedincentivesthatmakeitindividuallyrationalforpeopletocontinuedemandingmoregovernmenteventhoughitiscollectivelydestructive.125

GLIFOS-digital_archive

Metadata [hide]

Title	The Case for Abolishing Federal Taxation
Authors/Creators:	Richard Alm, Southern Methodist University Dwight R. Lee, University of Georgia and Ball State University
Year:	2013
Volume:	28
Number:	2
Pages:	125 - 137
Publisher:	The Association of Private Enterprise Education
ISSN:	0890-913X
Document Type:	Articles
Keywords:	Federal taxation, State taxation, Federalism, Rent seeking, Tax reform

Citation:
Alm, Richard; Lee, Dwight R. / 2013. "The Case for Abolishing Federal Taxation." The Journal of Private Enterprise, 28(2): 125-137.