Taxation - Introduction

Link to slides

Lecture notes on the Introduction to Taxation

Lecture notes on Tax Incidence

For interest:

• • For a long, long time the US government supported itself with tariffs and taxes on things like alcohol.  

    • The income tax was backed by the advocates of the Prohibition movement, with a lot of interesting results

      • Reviews of Daniel Okrent's Last Call:  The Rise and Fall of Prohibition, 2010

      • Prohibition Life:  Politics, Loopholes, and Bathtub Gin.  NPR's Fresh Air, May 10, 2010

      • Last Call (New York Times, May 23, 2010)

  • People really don't like taxes.  And are kind of dumb.  (The New Republic, January 13, 2010)

  • Is it a tax or is it a fee?  (Slate, Sept. 28, 2009)

  • Why do people put up with such high taxes on cigarettes?  (Slate, September 8, 2010)