Tax Reform for Fairness, Simplicity, and Economic Growth e-bog

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. Chapter 4 evaluates several alternatives to a value-added tax: a retail sales tax, manufacturers and wholesale sales taxes, and a per sonal exemption value - added tax. Only a value-added tax or a retail sales tax would be basically neutral with respect to consumption and production decisions. That is, a properly designed tax of either type would not seriously distort the consumption behavior of individuals nor the production techniques and methods of business firms. In contrast, any pre - retail tax, such as a manufacturers or wholesale sales tax, would badly distort both consumption and production behavior. The result would be reduced consumer satisfaction and less tax revenue at a given rate. Pre - retail taxes also create substantial administrative problems that would not be present with either a retail sales or value - added tax. Though a retail sales tax and a value - added tax are similar, there may be both administrative and economic reasons for favoring a value-added tax, if a national sales tax is desired.