Figuring Out the Tax

Lawrence Zelenak is the Pamela B. Gann Professor of Law at Duke University, North Carolina.

• 1. Introduction: Cordell Hull writes the income Tax; 2. The birth, death, and resurrection of income tax withholding; Part I. Technical Problems Exposed by the High Tax Rates of World War I: 3. How the income tax became tax-inclusive; Part II. Early Mistakes and the Persistence of Error: 4. The tax-free step-up in basis at death and the charitable deduction for unrealized appreciation: the early mistakes; 5. The tax-free step-up in basis at death and the charitable deduction for unrealized appreciation: the failed reforms; Part III. Congress Muddles Through: 6. Capital losses in the early income tax; 7. A troubled relationship from the start: marriage and the income tax; Part IV. Congress Goes Its Own Way: 8. The early income tax and the imputed rental income of homeowners; 9. 'Blowing a kiss' at earned income; Part V. Concluding Perspectives: 10. 'Answers to inquirers'; 11. Is there a moral to the story?

'Who would have thought that a tax book can be so much fun?! Part tax history, part a comedy of errors, Zelenak's story about the emergence and development of the American tax system is a joy to read. It holds lessons for policymakers, offers ideas to academics, and helps taxpayers to form an informed opinion of what a good tax system should look like.' Alex Raskolnikov, Wilbur H. Friedman Professor of Tax Law, Columbia Law School