This half-semester course provides an introduction to tax policy, with a focus on current policy issues. It covers the history of taxation in the United States, changes in the progressivity of the tax system over time and across countries, the challenges of taxing capital in a globalization world, optimal income taxation, and wealth taxation.
Spring 2021 Syllabus: here
Lecture 1: Income and wealth in the United States
Lecture 2: The US tax system: who pays what?
Lecture 3: Tax progressivity: a historical perspective
Lecture 4: Labor and capital taxation
Lecture 5: Global tax competition
Lecture 6: Progressive income, wealth, and inheritance taxation: the ideal triptych?
Lecture 7: Funding the social state