THE JAMES HAUSMAN TAX LAW & POLICY WORKSHOP SERIES
presents
David Weisbach
University of Chicago
Is Knowledge of the Tax Law Socially Desirable?
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
4:10 – 6:00 p.m.
Solarium (room FA2) – Falconer Hall
84 Queen’s Park
This paper considers whether knowledge of the tax law is socially desirable. Unlike other laws, which most often attempt to channel behavior, revenue raising taxes attempt to avoid changing behavior, so it is not obvious whether or when knowledge of the tax law is desirable. I argue that whether knowledge of the tax law is desirable depends on three factors: expectations about the tax in the absence of knowledge, the type of tax, and the quality of the tax. I then apply this to various policy decisions where knowledge of the tax law is a key variable, including the regulation of tax advisors, hidden taxes (such phase-outs of exemptions), and whether individual have the socially optimal incentive to seek knowledge of the tax law.
David Weisbach received his BS in mathematics from the University of Michigan in 1985; a Masters in Advance Study (Mathematics) from Wolfson College, Cambridge, in 1986; and a JD from Harvard Law School in 1989. After graduating from law school, Mr. Weisbach clerked for Judge Joel M. Flaum of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and worked as an associate in the law firm of Miller & Chevalier. In 1992, Mr. Weisbach joined the Department of Treasury where he worked as an attorney-advisor in the Office of the Tax Legislative Counsel and, subsequently, as associate tax legislative counsel. In 1996, Mr. Weisbach was appointed Associate Professor of Law at Georgetown Law Center and joined the Chicago faculty in 1998. He is also a Senior Fellow at the University of Chicago Computation Institute and Argonne National Laboratories and an International Research Fellow at the Said School of Business, Oxford University. Mr. Weisbach is primarily interested in issues relating to federal taxation and to climate change.
Refreshments will be served
For more workshop information, please contact Nadia Gulezko at n.gulezko@utoronto.ca.
