Contact Jeff Hamond at [email protected]
Contact Christopher Stinson at UT-Austin: at [email protected] or 512/471-5318
Shift in Tax Burden Necessary for Economic Progress at Redefining Progress:
In "Tax Waste, Not Work," a new text from Redefining Progress, the authors contend that changing what is taxed in America can lead to a stronger economy and a cleaner environment. The book--co-authored by Christopher H. Stinson, a University of Texas Business School professor and a senior fellow at Redefining Progress--focuses the national debate not on HOW MUCH to tax, but, more fundamentally, on WHAT should be taxed.
The four other authors are Jeff Hamond (Director of Fiscal Policy Research at Redefining Progress), Stephen J. DeCanio (Professor of Economics at UC-Santa Barbara and recent recipient of an EPA award for his work on ozone-depleting substances), Peggy Duxbury (former Director
of Taxation for the National Association of Manufacturers), and Alan Sanstad (Senior Fellow at Redefining Progress and a researcher at Lawrence Livermore Laboratories).
Arguing that we get less of what is taxed and more of what isn't, Stinson and his colleagues ask, "Why is income, and the work and investment that create it, taxed?" The authors propose a shift in the tax burden away from productive activities and onto unproductive activities that we want to discourage. "The current tax system sends the wrong signals to virtually everyone. It discourages work and capital formation while it encourages pollution, waste and the inefficient use of resources."
"Tax Waste, Not Work" offers a fresh approach to some old questions and
speaks to several important long-term problems faced by the nation, such as the payroll tax and the exploding growth of entitlements; global climate change as a significant environmental and economic threat; the lack of economic opportunity in our inner cities; and the dislocation and hardship that are being caused by major economic transformations even as they provide exciting new opportunities.
Stinson and his colleagues suggest that a market-based approach to dealing with these problems would be most effective, producing what they call a 'double dividend'. For instance, "A market-based incentive,
such as a carbon tax, would put individual initiative to work on finding thousands of ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions-purely as a matter of self-interest," they argue. Such a tax system fits the nation's beliefs, needs and goals.
Christopher Stinson is the Director of the Graduate School of Business's MBA concentration in Natural Resource and Environmental Management. Redefining Progress is a public policy organization founded to promote new approaches to the integration of four broad issue areas: economic opportunity, social cohesion, environmental conservation, and fiscal responsibility.
"Tax Waste, Not Work" is available for $10 plus $3 for Priority Mail shipping by calling 1-800-896-2100 or from Redefining Progress, One Kearny Street, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94108. ###
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