If Americans Really Understood The Income Tax: Uncovering Our Most Expensive Ignorance [Paperback]

John O Fox (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 2004

One hundred eighty million Americans file income tax returns, almost as many complain about the system, yet few understand the underlying social and economic outcomes. This book carves open the belly of the income tax for Americans who never have had the opportunity to learn about it, and empowers Americans to make informed judgments about what income tax laws would be best. John Fox explains how the laws represent the most comprehensive expression of official government values. Fox also elucidates how special relief provisions far exceed in sheer dollars and importance programs funded directly through the federal budget, and why these special provisions typically fail to advance tax justice or economic growth. Fox presents a compelling argument that our nation's interests would be best served by overhauling the system through reforms that eliminate all but the most essential special relief provisions, while reducing tax rates across the board. Such reforms, he argues, are far more compatible with principles of liberals and conservatives than is today's system. Part primer, part manifesto, If Americans Really Understood the Income Taxis sure to open the eyes of tax-paying Americans and earn the respect of policy experts.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Longtime Washington, D.C., tax attorney Fox is well positioned to lend perspective to the current tax debate. Fox stresses the narrowness of the U.S. tax base; Congress' Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that, from 2000 to 2004, nearly $3 trillion of income will be excluded from taxes. This tax-expenditure amount includes employer benefit plan contributions, capital-gains-related exclusions, personal itemized deductions and business deductions beyond the cost of doing business, and tax credits. These tax preferences encourage economic behavior Congress wanted to reward, but Fox makes the case that conservatives and liberals could agree on a more equitable tax code if it included more income and then taxed it at lower, moderately progressive rates. Fox explores the values reflected in tax law, examines the effectiveness of tax incentives, analyzes specific exclusions (home mortgage interest, pension plans, and capital gains), and compares income tax with a "flat tax," closing with conclusions and reform recommendations. Mary Carroll
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Longtime Washington, D.C., tax attorney Fox is well positioned to lend perspective to the current tax debate."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 366 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (March 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813342384
• ISBN-13: 978-0813342382
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,585,295 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Send a Copy to your Senator, April 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: If Americans Really Understood the Income Tax: Uncovering Our Most Expensive Ignorance (Hardcover)

How timely! Read this while you're still hurting from your April tax payments. This devastating book explains in simple terms why most Americans lose big-time from all the special exemptions and provisions in the income tax that benefit mainly the wealthiest. Fox shows how much lower tax rates could be for everybody if these special benefits were capped. This book is clear and informative but the bottom line is that Congress has created an incredible set of entitlement programs for those who don't need them, at our expense.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My wife took my copy and I will have to buy another., May 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: If Americans Really Understood the Income Tax: Uncovering Our Most Expensive Ignorance (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book. It has been written in a comprehensive style that can enlighten taxpayers as well as tax professionals. Every one can benefit from the collected information and well-conceived opinions of Mr. Fox. This book can serve as a wellspring to initiate questions, debate, or perhaps a citizen's revolt against our present archaic, confusing, and unequal tax system. Mr. Fox has obviously been working on this book for several years, but his phenomenal foresight has placed this brilliant work in our hands at just the right moment when we consider the major tax law changes now being considered by the U.S. Executive and Legislative branches of our government. The proposed changes could have a profound negative effect on our children and us. In the 18th century American citizens had a tea party in Boston because of unfair taxes. What will our generation do? Whimper and complain or become informed and proactive?

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Tax Connection, April 24, 2001

By 

Pete Reider (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If Americans Really Understood the Income Tax: Uncovering Our Most Expensive Ignorance (Hardcover)

Fox gets right down to two essential questions: "First, can the income tax be made reasonably fair, simple and economically efficient?" and "Second, are its flaws worth repairing, or would it be preferable to adopt a very different tax system?" He explains, in the clearest - non-polemic - way, what the tax picture really is. Early on he gives an example, the taxes of the Gepetto and Anton families - an example that lights up the rest of the book. The exposition is very clear and yet detailed enough to illustrate the nitty-gritty of several issues, including homeownership (where I got a tip or two) and the capital gains controversy. Fox is broadminded and flexible in his approach - perhaps an endangered species writing about such a hot topic. There is immediacy about his writing making the book a gripping page-turner rather than pedantic.