Public Economics: Taxation
This page offers supplementary links to in-class lectures.
Introduction to Taxes
Why are there taxes?
Constitutional authority
U.S. Constitution | National Archives
Georgia Constitution | Georgia Secretary of State
Spending on public goods
Military and national defense | Gallup
Tax expenditures| US Department of the Treasury
What are the largest tax expenditures? | Tax Policy Center
How public-private partnerships fund national landmarks | Marketplace
Budget | National Park Service
What does the federal government spend your tax dollars on? | Pew Research Center
Guiding tax principles
Tax definitions
Motor fuel state excise tax bulletins | GA Department of Revenue
Sales tax rates | GA Department of Revenue
Adam Smith's four maxims
On taxes | Wealth of Nations Book V, Chapter II, Part II
The 'visual beauty' of bricked-up windows | BBC
18th century taxes | All Things Georgian
Illinois governor candidate removed mansion's toilets to dodge taxes, report finds | NPR
Rauner and Pritzker duke it out over toilets and taxes | CBS Chicago
Democrat billionaire Senator John Kerry avoids taxes on yacht
Laffer Curve
Art Laffer explains the Laffer Curve | iea
U.S. individual income tax: Highest bracket | FRED
Federal government current tax receipts | FRED
Voodoo Economics | Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Bush-Reagan 1980 debate on taxes
1982 voodoo economics | NBCUniversal Archives
Optimal taxation
Bush will try to kill luxury tax on yachts | LA Times
Taxes with intent
DataWeb | International Trade Commission
Federal government current tax receipts: Taxes on production and imports: Customs duties | FRED
Restrictions on international trade
2002 Annual Report: The Fruits of Free Trade | Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Tax fairness
"The uneasy case for progressive taxation" | Blum and Kalven (1952)
Read Sections 1, 8-10, 15, 23Summary of the latest federal income tax data, 2023 update | Tax Foundation
SOI Tax Stats - Individual income tax rates and tax shares
Takings: Private property and the power of eminent domain | Epstein
Read pages 295-303How tax breaks help the rich | Vox
Who pays the lowest taxes in the US? | Vox
U.S. Bill of Rights | National Archive
Richard Epstein discusses John Locke and a flat tax | John Locke Foundation
Adam Liptak and Richard Epstein discuss the flat tax | Cato Institute
The Flat Tax | Hall and Rabushka
Flat Tax - A fair, simple and transparent reform | iea
Rabushka on the Flat Tax | EconTalk
Milton Friedman on the flat tax
Interview with Alvin Rabushka | iea
Taxes in Estonia | International House
Anarchy, state, and utopia | Nozick
Read (book) pages 169-174, 290-292Walter Williams: Can taxation be immoral? | Heritage Foundation
Read Section III
The myth of ownership | Murphy and Nagel
Read pages 31-37Moral Luck | Crash Course
Common taxes
Income taxes
Tax avoidance/manipulation
Do taxpayers bunch at kink points? | Saez (2010)
Policy tools
Policy basics: The Earned Income Tax Credit | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Do child tax credits affect the well-being of children? | Milligan and Stabile (2011)
See Abstract, Introduction, Figures 1 and 2, Tables 3-5
Who responds to changes in the federal adoption tax credit? | Rodgers and Wallace (2020)
Who claims the federal adoption tax credit? Those who know about it
Give credit where? The incidence of child care tax credits | Rodgers (2018)
See Abstract; Introduction; Figures 2, 3, 5, and 7; Tables 3 and 4 (on GeorgiaVIEW)
Property taxes
2019 state & local government finance historical datasets and tables | U.S. Census
Property taxes | Urban Institute
Baldwin County Tax Commissioner
Baldwin County Board of Assessors
Property tax valuation | GA Dept. of Revenue
Michigan tax assessor attempts interior home inspections
Property tax appeals | GA Dept. of Revenue
Taxpayer bill of rights | GA Dept. of Revenue
Georgia Code Title 48. Revenue and Taxation § 48-5-220
Baldwin Co. officials explain why property taxes need to rise
Baldwin County commissioners pass property tax increase
Baldwin County vote to increase property tax
Illinois governor candidate removed mansion's toilets to dodge taxes, report finds | NPR
Rauner and Pritzker duke it out over toilets and taxes | CBS Chicago
Baldwin County Schools FY24 budget meeting
Sales taxes
Fiscal policy
Understanding differences in fiscal policy
Massachusetts business taxes | Tannenwald (2004)
Tax incentives
Film tax incentives | Georgia Film
Georgia film | Explore Georgia
Questions regarding Georgia's film industry tax credit | 11Alive
Impact of the Georgia Film Tax Credit | Georgia DOR
Clawbacks
Can cities and states "clawback" their economic development advantages? | The American Prospect
38 Studios: Curt Schilling's crony capitalism debacle | Reason
Curt Shilling puts Conan in "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning" | Team Coco
Opportunity Zones
Opportunity Zones explained | Urban Catalyst
HUD's Carson on Opportunity Zone investment | Bloomberg Politics
Concerns after prices jump in Opportunity Zones | ABC10 News
Opportunity Zone resources | CDFI Fund
Opportunity Zones frequently asked questions | IRS
Competition for incentives
Amazon headquarters race has cities battling for bid | Today
Cory Booker makes a case for Amazon's HQ2 in Newark | CNBC
Are corporate tax incentives worth it? | The Week
Amazon's massive Chicago-area expansion was fueled by $741 million from taxpayers | WBEZ
Chapter 11Cobb commissioners approve Braves stadium deal | AJC
Why do taxpayers pay billions for football stadiums? | Vox
Super Bowl of welfare | Stossel
San Francisco Giants history: Move to Florida Denied by MLB
How the Seattle SuperSonics really lost their NBA team
Seattle SuperSonics relocation to Oklahoma City | Wikipedia
Fiscal impact: SunTrust Park & the Battery Atlanta | Cobb Chamber