Getting a Poor Return

Robert M. Howard is Associate Professor of Political Science at Georgia State University.

• List of Figures and TablesAcknowledgments1. Tax Policy and the Pursuit of Justice Courts and JusticeTaxes and Tax PolicyCourts, Fairness, and TaxesChapter Overview2. Courts and the IRSThe Need for Tax ForumsAdministrative Appeals and Trial Courts: Options and OddsConclusion3. Tax Litigation and Tax Forum ChoicePolitical Forces and LitigationThe Decision to Litigate and Forum StrategyHypothesesFactors Infl uencing Litigation and Forum ChoiceResultsConclusion4. Tax Decision MakingCourts, Law, and PoliticsTaxpayers, Courts, and OutcomesHypothesesResultsConclusion5. Influences on the IRS and the Audits of Low-IncomeTaxpayersBureaucratic Control and the IRSThe National Political Coalition, Courts, and Bureaucratic ControlHypothesesTesting Infl uencesResultsConclusion6. Courts, Fairness, and the Creation and Enforcement of National Tax PolicyCourts, Fairness, and National Governing Coalitions Changing Tax Policy, Changing the CourtsAppendix Methodology and the Use of Panel DataEstimation ProblemsModels for Chapter ThreeModels for Chapter FourModels for Chapter FiveCases CitedNotesReferencesIndex

"…Howard provides a most insightful examination of how U.S. tax policy is shaped by the U.S. District Court and the more specialized U.S. Tax Court … this book has implications far beyond tax policy. Most impressively, it investigates why litigants choose to file their tax suits in particular venues, as well as how those courts render their decisions. In so doing, it advances our understanding of two of the most significant aspects of the study of law and courts: litigation strategies and judicial decision making." — American Review of Politics"The book fits nicely at the intersection of several well-developed and important literatures, including judicial decision-making, litigant choice, 'upperdogs versus underdogs,' bureaucratic discretion, and congressional-executive relations … the emphasis on the low-income litigant's plight is a powerful way of contextualizing the larger study and accentuating why such an inquiry is so important." — Law and Politics Book Review