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A “Comprehensive Tax Base” as a Goal of Income Tax Reform
Bittker, Boris
Bittker, Boris
Abstract
Taking issue with those who contend that the income on which taxes are paid should be the same as what an economist would consider "net income," Professor Bittker urges that a neutral, scientific measure of taxable income is a mirage. In many of the vexed areas of income definition, the concept of economic income yields no help; in others, it implies results from which even its proponents would recoil. There is no touchstone for tax reform: proposals must be considered provision by provision and policy by policy, on their particular merits.