Heidelberg Congress on Taxing Consumption

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-XVII

   PDF

2. Opening Lectures

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

      PDF

   2. The Superiority of a Consumption-based Tax System

      • Manfred Rose

      Pages 3-28

   3. On Choosing the “Correct” Tax Base — A Historical Perspective

      • Richard A. Musgrave

      Pages 29-42

3. Theoretical and Empirical Foundations of Taxing Consumption

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 43-43

      PDF

   2. The Short Run and Long Run Welfare Effects of Implementing a Practical System of Consumption Taxation

      • Robin Boadway

      Pages 45-84

   3. Consumption and Income Taxation: Horizontal Equity and Life Cycle Issues

      • John Kay

      Pages 85-115

   4. Taxation of Income, Consumption, and Wages in an Open Economy

      • Peter Birch Sørensen

      Pages 117-145

   5. On the Specification of Simulation Models for Evaluating Income and Consumption Taxes

      • Charles L. Ballard

      Pages 147-188

4. Taxing Consumption from a Public Choice and Constitutional Point of View

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 189-189

      PDF

   2. Consumption Taxation and Democratic Process

      • Geoffrey Brennan, James M. Buchanan

      Pages 191-226

   3. Public Choice and the Consumption Tax

      • Dennis C. Mueller

      Pages 227-246

   4. Fiscal Principle, Fiscal Politics, and Consumption Taxation

      • Richard E. Wagner

      Pages 247-269

5. Legal Aspects of Taxing Consumption

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 271-271

      PDF

   2. Taxing Consumption from a Legislative Point of View

      • Joachim Lang

      Pages 273-332

6. Administrative Aspects of a Consumption-based Tax System

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 333-333

      PDF

   2. Administrative Advantages of the Individual Tax Prepayment Approach to the Direct Taxation of Consumption

      • Charles E. McLure Jr., George R. Zodrow

      Pages 335-389

   3. Alternate Roads to Consumption Taxation — Administration versus Tax Structure

      • Henry J. Aaron

      Pages 391-405

   4. Administration Problems of an Expenditure Tax

      • Christian Seidl

      Pages 407-449

7. Taxing Consumption from an International Point of View

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 451-451

      PDF

A tax reform policy aiming at a growth of prosperity requires basic guidelines. These would have to serve as a standard evaluation model for the precise assessment of the current tax system and the development of tax reform proposals. For market economies the concept of a consumption-based tax system is gaining increasing importance, especially with respect to economic efficiency. An ideal concept for reforming direct taxes would be the requirement of aligning tax bases directly to consumed income, that is, to exempt saved and invested income from taxation. The present volume contains papers dealing with the pros and cons of such a consumption-based tax system and of taxing lifetime consumption. Papers presented in this volume come from leading international scientists who discuss the tax reform under theoretical, political, legal and administrative aspects.

• Konsumbesteuerung
• Steuerpolitik
• Steuerreform
• fiscal policy
• growth
• political economy
• simulation
• social security
• tax reform
• taxation
• welfare

• Alfred-Weber-Institute, Faculty of Economics, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

  Manfred Rose

Policies and ethics