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Desperately Seeking Revenue

Author

Listed:
  • Altshuler, Rosanne
  • Lim, Katherine
  • Williams, Roberton

Abstract

In August 2009 the Congressional Budget Office warned that the budget was on an unsustainable path. Preventing federal debt from growing faster than the economy over the long-run requires large increases in revenues and/or decreases in spending. We explore, using the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center Model, whether incremental reforms of the current tax system could raise enough revenue to reduce the deficit to a sustainable level over the last five years of the current 10-year budget window. We conclude that feasible tax increases within the current tax structure cannot generate sufficient revenues to bring federal budget deficits under control.

Suggested Citation

  • Altshuler, Rosanne & Lim, Katherine & Williams, Roberton, 2010. "Desperately Seeking Revenue," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 63(2), pages 331-351, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:ntj:journl:v:63:y:2010:i:2:p:331-51
    DOI: 10.17310/ntj.2010.2.08
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Martin Feldstein, 1999. "Tax Avoidance And The Deadweight Loss Of The Income Tax," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(4), pages 674-680, November.
    2. Emmanuel Saez & Joel Slemrod & Seth H. Giertz, 2012. "The Elasticity of Taxable Income with Respect to Marginal Tax Rates: A Critical Review," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(1), pages 3-50, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. William G. Gale & Samuel Brown, 2013. "Tax Reform for Growth, Equity, and Revenue," Public Finance Review, , vol. 41(6), pages 721-754, November.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General
    • H60 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - General

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