Saturday, July 10, 2004
Thomas Griffith, John B. Milliken Professor of Taxation at USC, is one of those rare academics who is a leading figure in two very different areas of scholarship and teaching.
Tax Profs undoubtedly are aware of Tom’s contributions in the tax arena. His most recent published article, Taxing Sunny Days: Adjusting Taxes for Regional Living Costs and Amenities (with colleague Michael Knoll), captured the exceedingly rare honor (especially for a tax piece) of publication in the Harvard Law Review (116 Harv. L. Rev. 987 (2003)). Here is how Tom describes the piece:
Taxpayers pay tax on their nominal income without regard to their regional cost of living or the value of their regional amenities. Although commentators have argued that the income tax’s failure to account for such differences is unfair – because residents of high-cost and low-amenity regions pay higher taxes than residents of low-cost and high-amenity regions – that argument is unpersuasive because migration tends to eliminate regional differences in living standards. The tax system’s failure to adjust for regional differences is, however, likely to misallocate resources across regions in two ways. First, it is likely to discourage taxpayers from settling in high-cost regions where the high cost of living is matched by high salaries. Second, it is likely to discourage taxpayers from settling in low-amenity regions where the lower value of amenities is reflected in higher salaries. Both misallocations can be eliminated by multiplying each taxpayer’s earned income (but not her unearned income) by the reciprocal of the region’s relative salary level. Such a relative salary multiplier imposes the same nominal tax on each resident without regard to her location, thereby eliminating the tax-driven incentive for individuals to settle in low-tax regions.
Tom has written many other important tax pieces, including:
• Efficient Taxation and Mixed Personal and Business Expenses, 41 UCLA L. Rev. 1769 (1994)
• Should “Tax Norms” Be Abandoned? Rethinking Tax Policy Analysis and the Taxation of Personal Injury Recoveries, 1993 Wisc. L. Rev. 1115
• Is the Debate Between an Income Tax and a Consumption Tax a Debate About Risk? Does it Matter?, 47 Tax L. Rev. 377 (1992) (with Joseph Bankman)
• Social Welfare and the Rate Structure: A New Look at Progressive Taxation, 75 Cal. L. Rev. 1905 (1987) (with Joseph Bankman)
He also is the co-author (with Joseph Bankman and Katherine Pratt) of the enormously successful student guide to the basic tax course, Federal Income Taxation: Examples & Explanations (Aspen, 3d ed. 2002). Most recently, Tom has returned to the issues of progressive tax in the article, Progressive Taxation and Happiness, which will be published in a symposium issue of the Boston College Law Review.
Yet Tax Profs may not be aware of Tom’s other scholarly and teaching life. He is a prolific author on various criminal law topics, including:
• Habitual Offender Statutes and Criminal Deterrence, 34 Conn. L. Rev. (2001) (with Linda Beres)
• Demonizing Youth, 34 Loyola L.A. L. Rev. 747 (2001) (with Linda Beres)
• Did “Three Strikes” Cause the Recent Drop in California Crime? An Analysis of the California Attorney General’s Report, 32 Loyola L.A. L. Rev. 101 (1998) (with Linda Beres)
• Do Three Strikes Make Sense? Habitual Offender Statutes and Criminal Incapacitation, 87 Geo. L.J. 103 (1998)
In his 20 years at USC, Tom has been a popular classroom teacher in both areas. He currently teaches basic income tax and criminal law. As a further testament to his versatility, he has also taught business tax, contracts and negotiations.
To relax, Tom enjoys games of all kinds, and is a devotee of the popular card game “Magic the Gathering.”
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Interesting interview with William F. Buckley in Sunday’s 
