讲座简介: | Should capital assets be indexed for inflation under an ideal income tax? Economists and US Treasury officials have been nearly unanimous in condemning the taxation of purely inflationary gains. Even Henry Simons opposed taxing inflationary gains. I consider the arguments and conclude that if the normative goals of an ideal income are to be advanced, purely inflationary gains must be included in the tax base. The objections to taxing inflationary gains are not based in science, but reflect a normative preference for taxing consumption rather than income. |