As practitioners, we must devote lots of time to the technical understanding of the tax law. For many rules, we may puzzle why they have so many details and why some special rules are so limited. Appreciation of the design of a tax system (also known as tax policy), can help deepen our understanding of technical rules and where improvements are needed to our tax system. Understanding principles of good tax policy is necessary to objectively evaluate legislative proposals and critique them to clients and lawmakers. This course covers the basics of tax policy, principles of good tax policy, how to use this information for improved practice, and advocacy ideas to help improve our tax laws. Examples and practice analysis are included.
Learning Objectives
• Explain the basic design of the income tax, consumption taxes, wealth taxes and head taxes
• Explain how tax expenditures affect the design of a tax system
• Apply principles of good tax policy to existing rules and tax proposals
• Describe tax reform processes
• Explain challenges underlying tax reform
• Draft comments on a legislative or administrative proposal
Major Topics
• Definition and relevance of the term tax policy
• Principles underlying the main tax types
• Principles of good tax policy
• How to analyze existing tax rules and proposals for changes against principles of good tax policy and utilize the results
• How and why to advocate for tax law changes
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