"Nothing is certain but death and taxes."  And that truth has been aggravating us for a long time; versions of that sardonic quote seem to have been coined by both Daniel Defoe and Benjamin Fr...

State governments each design their own tax systems, so there is no single tax model that fits all fifty states. But most rely for funding upon some combination of personal and corporate income ta...

Okay, now you know what all those taxes eating up your paycheck are. Onward to a more philosophical question: who should pay for government?  What kind of tax system is fair?(And no, "som...

The sales tax is one of the most common forms of state tax; every state except New Hampshire, Delaware, Montana, Oregon, and Alaska uses it.  (So if you live near any of those five, you should...

Sales taxes are not the only controversial forms of taxation. How do other taxes measure up against the three criteria of effectiveness, efficiency, and fairness? Property taxes are based on the a...

Many tax analysts argue that a fourth criterion should be added to the evaluation of any tax: its distribution or “incidence.” All taxes, after all, represent a diversion of some person’s or...

Of all American taxes, the federal income tax generates by far the most debate. It's the biggest tax, and one of the most politically controversial. But in economic terms, is it effective, effici...