Using Tax History to Enhance the Tax Course and Policy Perspectives

• In Event: Reception with ELS posters
  In Poster Session: Poster 7

Abstract

The basic tax course has become overwhelmed in facts and memorization due to decades of more and more tax law additions. Many students now wonder how the tax code became so complex and if there is any "reasoning" behind such complexity.

This paper/presentation outlines 10 items within the tax code and describes how/why they were created - and what "forces" - social, political or economically drove their passage and continues to support their enactment.

Items include the standard deduction, social security taxation, itemized deduction, preference treatment of dividend and capital gain income, etc.

The result of this historical backgrounds review offers the student a deeper appreciation of the complex of the society in which we live and the agendas of various constituencies that are represented within the Federal government.

Author

• Robert J Walsh, University of Dallas