W. Edward Afield (Georgia State): Social Justice and the Low-Income Taxpayer. Kitty Richards (DCFPI): Taxes and Rents: The Power of Tax Policy to Shape the Distribution of Pre-Tax Income. Where in the U.S. are you most likely to be audited by the IRS? Racism by the numbers: How the Internal Revenue Service targets poor black taxpayers. Growing partisan divide over fairness of the nation’s tax system. Tax season woes have complex roots: From Bolivia to the U.K. to Sweden, how people perceive their financial relationship with the state depends on everything from local culture and history to what the taxes and benefits are called.
Jeremy Pilaar (Yale): Starving the Statehouse: The Hidden Tax Policies Behind States’ Long‐Run Fiscal Crises. Leandra Lederman (Indiana): The Fraud Triangle and Tax Evasion. Amazon’s $0 corporate income tax bill last year, explained. Wealth inequality is way worse than you think, and tax havens play a big role. The IRS tried to take on the ultrawealthy — it didn’t go well. Bryce Covert writes in defense of the much-maligned IRS: The agency helps to keep the wealthy accountable. Leslie Book (Villanova): Giving Taxpayer Rights a Seat at the Table. Do you have a moral duty to pay taxes? Why Democrats like taxes again.
Taxpayers are very confused: Fewer returns are in, traffic to the IRS website is up, and everyone’s complaining about refunds — why? Congress is about to ban the government from offering free online tax filing — thank TurboTax. Elizabeth Warren wants to make it simpler to file taxes — good for her.
