Lawrence A. Zelenak (Duke) presents two papers at the University of Toronto today as part of the James Hausman Tax Law and Policy Workshop Series The workshop will be held in the Solarium (FA2) at 84 Queen’s Park.
There is considerable interest in the United States in the possible elimination of the tax return filing requirement for many or all taxpayerseither by the introduction of a “return-free” income tax, or by replacing the income tax with a national retail sales tax or a value-added tax. This paper claims that a return filing requirement has substantial civic virtues which are not widely recognized. A return-based income tax coupled with inexact withholding is an attractive compromise between those who would prefer that taxes be as visible and painful as possible, and those with the opposite preference. In addition, return filing has the potential to serve as an important civic ceremony, recognizing and formalizing the fulfillment of the financial responsibilities of citizenship. For this potential to be realized, however, the income tax rules applicable to most taxpayers must be simplified so that return preparation is not the miserable experience it is for most taxpayers today.
The federal income tax and situation comedies entered popular culture at almost the same moment, during World War II. Over the past six decades, situation comedies have supplied a running commentary on the income tax, with the income tax featuring prominently in at least eighty sitcom episodes. For one hoping to understand popular attitudes to the income tax, and how they may have changed over time sitcoms are indispensable source material. This paper describes all income tax-related sitcom episodes which the author has been able to identify.
