Newswise — With a potentially groundbreaking report by the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform expected next week, the Urban Institute has published a timely update of its award-winning Encyclopedia of Taxation and Tax Policy. This completely revised second edition offers essays on 40 new topics and revises another 200 articles to reflect legislation during the past six years.
The nearly 250 essays, written by more than 150 tax experts, cover issues from adjusted gross income to zoning and property taxes. Edited by Joseph J. Cordes, Robert D. Ebel, and Jane G. Gravelle, the articles range from such universal topics as income tax and child tax credits to more technical articles on excise tax and corporate tax integration.
The encyclopedia explains and reviews: "¢ Fundamental economic theories, concepts and behavior; "¢ Specialized economic and tax concepts; "¢ Types of taxes levied in the United States and abroad; "¢ Issues of tax measurement, accounting, administration, analysis, and institutions; "¢ Related public finance issues.
This book is a must-have reference not only for tax professionals, but for anyone involved in public policy and public administration. The essays go beyond describing tax law. Entries provide in-depth explanations by some of the best tax minds, bringing readers up to date in a user-friendly manner. Each essay begins with a brief definition and introduction of the topic, then examines the issue comprehensively, and concludes with a thorough list of additional readings.
Some new and updated topics: "¢ Dynamic Scoring by Douglas Holtz-Eakin, director of the Congressional Budget Office; "¢ Corporate Tax Integration by Glenn Hubbard, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and professor at Columbia University; "¢ Portfolio Choice by James Poterba, member of the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; "¢ Fiscal Disparities by Helen F. Ladd, associate director of the Sanford Institute and professor at Duke University; "¢ National Retail Sales Tax by William Gale, co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.
As the editors note in their preface, "Whether the topics are as broad as the principles of just taxation or as narrow as the mechanisms of a tax credit for low-income housing, what pulls it all together and makes it important is that a system of taxation is more than a compendium of dry tax law and economic data. It is also an expression of community relationships among individuals and between the people and their governments."
Joseph J. Cordes is a professor of economics and public policy and public administration at George Washington University. Robert D. Ebel is a senior fellow at the Urban Institute and an economist specializing in intergovernmental relations and public finance. Jane G. Gravelle is a senior specialist in economic policy with the Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress.
The Encyclopedia of Taxation and Tax Policy, 2nd Edition, edited by Joseph J. Cordes, Robert D. Ebel, and Jane G. Gravelle, is available from the Urban Institute Press for $75.00 (518 pages, ISBN 0-87766-752-7). Order online at http://www.uipress.org, call 202-261-5687, or dial 1-877-847-7377 toll-free.
For more information, visit http://www.urban.org or http://www.taxpolicycenter.org.
The Urban Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy research and educational organization that examines the social, economic, and governance challenges facing the nation.
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The Encyclopedia of Taxation and Tax Policy, 2nd Edition
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