《西方税收理论》课程教学大纲.doc

西方税收理论课程教学大纲（2006年制订）课程编号：110114 英 文 名：Western Taxation Theory课程类别：类别选修课/专业任意选修课前 置 课：西方经济学、财政学、税收学后 置 课：比较税制学 分：2学分课 时：34课时主讲教师：王建伟、吴国平、任巧玲等选定教材：Harvey S. Rosen. Public Finance (Seventh Edition).北京：清华大学出版社，2005年（节选）.课程概述： 西方税收理论课程是财政学专业的专业任意选修课和税务专业的类别选修课。该课程首先对西方主要国家的税收制度沿革作简要介绍，对发达国家与不发达国家之间的税制进行概述。在介绍税收收入分配及其效应、税负归宿等理论的基础上，对目前颇具争议的最优税制问题作了详尽的介绍，并通过模型分析部分地介绍了政府如何选择最优税收政策的问题。在本课程的最后还对诸如最低收入补助、消费税，以及环境税等现实中的税收决策问题进行了介绍。教学目的： 一是培养锻炼学生阅读英文专业文献资料的能力，特别是用英语获取最新专业信息的能力；二是进一步使学生对市场经济条件下税收的一般规律有所认识和掌握，在了解西方国家税收改革的理论基础上，提高学生正确观察税收现象，分析、研究和解决税收问题的能力。教学方法： 本课程作为一门双语教学课程，使用的是根据英文影印版本教材选编的讲义。在课堂教学过程中，内容讲解部分采用中英文结合方式，英语使用程度需参考学生整体接受程度而定。为强化相关理论知识及其实践运用，本课程根据教学内容进度及其侧重点设置了讨论课时段，并配以适度的英文原文资料作为课后作业，增强学生的消化理解能力。同时，本课程将大力借助多媒体手段使讲解更加清晰明了。课程结束时，类别选修课采取考试方式考核，专业任意选修课采取考查方式考核。11各章教学要求及教学要点Introduction A Brief Historical Retrospect课时分配：2课时教学要求： 通过本章的教学，使学生对税收发展史有所了解，熟悉主要西方国家税制的概况，并能掌握发达国家之间以及发达国家与不发达国家之间的税制的主要差异。教学内容： 1 A Historical Review.Free tribute period .the clan society .the slavery society.The commitment period .Germany.England.The autocracy period .France .Italy.The constitutionalism period .England .America2 The Current Taxation Systems.Taxation system in developed countries .low tax countries .high tax countries.Taxation system in less developed countries .low tax countries .high tax countries.Taxation system in transition countries .low tax countries .high tax countriesDiscussion Questions： 1. How many periods have taxation development experienced?2. Whats the difference between tax system of developed countries and that of less developed countries?Chapter 1 Tax Incidence 课时分配：8课时教学要求：通过本章的教学，使学生明确税收的经济归宿与法定归宿之间的区别。了解税收归宿理论的目的在于分析税收变动对经济均衡影响的特征，以便进一步研究现实中的税收归宿问题。本章的重点是税负归宿的局部均衡分析，难点是税负归宿的一般均衡分析。教学内容： 1 Partial Equilibrium Analysis.Unit taxes on commodities .the incidence of a unit tax is independent of whether it is levied on consumers or producers .the incidence of a unit tax depends on the elasticities of supply and demand.Ad Valorem Taxes .low tax countries .high tax countries.Taxes on Factors .the payroll tax .capital taxation in a global economy.Commodity Taxation without Competition .monopoly .oligopoly2 General Equilibrium Analysis.Tax Equivalence Relations .partial factor taxes .certain combinations of partial factor taxes are equivalent to others.The Harberger Model .technology .behavior of factor suppliers .market structure .total factor supplies .consumer preferences .tax incidence framework.Analysis of Various Taxes .a commodity tax .an income tax .a general tax on labor .a partial factor tax.Some Qualifications .differences in individuals tastes .immobile factorsDiscussion Questions： 1. The federal government subsidizes the oil and gas Industries. In defense of the subsidies, a spokesman for the industry observed “some alleged subsidies dont even go to the industry. For example, the government provides money to low-income families to help pay heating bills” Cavaney, 1998. Use a supply and demand model to analyze the incidence of a subsidy to consumers of oil and gas, and use your analysis to evaluate the claim that the subsidies to low-income families do not benefit the industry. Note: To construct the model, note that a subsidy is just a negative tax.2. Whats the difference between tax system of developed countries and that of less developed countries?3. According to estimates by Goolsbee1998, purchases on the Internet are highly sensitive to tax rates, and applying existing sales taxes to such purchases would substantially reduce the number of online buyers and the amount of online spending. What are the implications for the incidence of a tax levied on Internet sales?4. In 2003, Hong Kong levied a tax of $51 per month on employers of domestic helpers from other nations. Many of these workers were from the Philippines, and President Arroyo of that country called the tax “unjust and unfair.” Given that the tax was levied on employers, was President Arroyo correct in being disturbed? Sketch a model that is consistent with her concerns being justified.Chapter 2 Distortion and Social Welfare Loss 课时分配：8课时教学要求：通过本章的教学，使学生明确认识到征税必然会引起效率损失，税制改革的目标应当是使超额负担尽可能地小。本章的重点是课税的经济效应，难点是超额负担的影响因素。教学内容： 1 Taxation Effect.Labor Supply .standard model .comment and extension.Effect of Income Tax .theoretical analysis .empirical conclusion2 Welfare Loss.Excess Burden Defined .substitution effect .income effect.Excess Burden Measurement with Demand Curves .preexisting distortions .the excess burden of a subsidy .the excess burden of income taxationDiscussion Questions：1. Which of the following is likely to impose a large excess burden? ( )a. A tax on land.b. A tax of 24 percent on the use of cellular phones.c. A subsidy for investment in “high-tech” companies.d. A tax on economic profits.e. A 10 percent tax on all computer software.f. A 10 percent tax only on the Excel spreadsheet program.2. Suppose the supply of land is perfectly inelastic. A tax on the unimproved value of the land will ( ).a. result in large distortions in the market for land. b. result in a large misallocation of resources in the market for land.c. fall on the buyers of land. d. fall on the owners of the land. 3. The deadweight loss of a tax is greater when the supply of and demand for the good or service being taxed is more elastic because ( ).a. in these instances, buyers and sellers do not change behavior much in response to the tax.b. in these instances, buyers and sellers change their behavior a lot in response to the tax. c. in these instances, buyers do not change their behavior much in response to the tax, but sellers do.d. in these instances, sellers do not change their behavior much in response to the tax, but buyers do. 4. The market for pizza is characterized by a downward-sloping demand curve and an upward-sloping supply curve.1) Draw the competitive market equilibrium. Label the price, quantity, consumer surplus, and producer surplus. Is there any deadweight loss? Explain.2) Suppose that the government forces each pizzeria to pay a $1 tax on each pizza sold. Illustrate the effect of this tax on the pizza market, being sure to label the consumer surplus, producer surplus, government revenue, and deadweight loss. How does each area compare to the pre-tax case?3) If the tax were removed, pizza eaters and sellers would lose tax revenue. Suppose that consumers and producers voluntarily transferred some of their gains to the government. Could all parties (including the government) be better off than they were with a tax? Explain using the labeled areas in your graph.Chapter 3 Optimal Taxation 课时分配：10课时教学要求：通过本章的教学，使学生了解最优税收必须应当同时满足公平与效率的要求，税收归宿必须明确，同时税收还应当具有弹性，要随经济形势的变化而调整。本章的重点与难点是最优商品税制与最优所得税制的设计原理。教学内容： 1 Indirect Taxation.The Ramsey Rule .neutral taxation .inverse elasticity rule .the Corlett-Hague Rule.Equity Considerations .horizontal equity .vertical equity2 Direct Taxation.Edgeworths Model .subject to the revenues required, the goal is to make the sum of individuals utilities as high as possible .individuals have identical utility functions that only depend on their incomes .the total amount of income available is fixed.Modern Studies .Sterns analysis .Mirrlees model3 Other Taxation.Capital Taxation .an overlapping generations model .capital accumulation .incidence of capital taxation.Mixed Taxation .negative income tax .some comment4 Criticism for Optimal Taxation.Tax system .assumption .technology.The Problems of Administration and politics .administration cost and compliance cost .politics and the time inconsistency problemDiscussion Questions：1. Accordig to estimates by Goolsbee and Petrin 2001,the elasticity of demand for basic cable service is -0.51,and the elasticity of demand for direct broadcast satellites is -0.74.Suppose that a community wants to raise a given amount of revenue by taxing cable service and the use of direct broadcast satellites. If the communitys goal is to raise the money as efficiently as possible, what should be the ratio of the cable tax to the satellite tax? Discuss briefly the assumptions behind your calculation.2. In 2002, the US federal government levied a tax of 3 percent on that part of a cars price exceeding $40,000.(For example, the tax liability on a $50,000 car would be 0.03($50,000-$40,000), or $300.) Discuss the efficiency, equity, and administrability of this “luxury car tax.”3. “Peter the Great at one time levied a tax upon beards. He held that the beard was a superfluous and useless ornament. The tax is said to have been proportional according to the length of the beard and progressive according to the social position of its possessor” Groves, 1946, p.51. Evaluate Peters beard tax from the standpoint of optimal tax theory and from the standpoint of horizontal equity.4. Suppose that Sharlene faces a marginal income tax rate of 36 percent, and if she cheats on her taxes, there is a 2 percent chance that she will be caught. Use the logic what you have learned to compute the smallest fine that will induce Sharlene not to cheat.5. Real estate magnate Donald Trump once proposed a one-time tax of 14.25 percent on the net wealth of every American with more than $10 million. Would this be an efficient way to raise tax revenue? Include in your answer the concept of the “time inconsistence of optimal policy.”Chapter 4 Current Arguments 课时分配：6课时教学要求：通过本章的教学，使学生能够把现代税收理论与当前西方国家的政策争论联系起来，并且深入地了解理论对于解决这些争论所能起到的作用。本章的重点是低收入保障制度的构建与综合所得税的锁定效应，难点是低收入的确认标准与环境税制的构建。教学内容： 1 Low Income Security.Measurement of Poverty .absolute method .relative method.Main Relief Methods .guaranteed minimum income .negative income tax .lower-paid subsidy .minimum pay system2 Consumption Tax.Tax Equivalence .hypothesis .uniform tax and uniform VAT.Comprehensive Income Tax .comprehensive income .lock-in effect3 Environment Tax.Optimal Green Taxation .optimal situation .second-best condition.Double Dividend .first dividend.second dividendDiscussion Questions：1. Food stamp benefits are phased out in a complicated fashion that varies from state to state. However, at some point near the poverty line, food stamps worth about $1,250 are suddenly lost. Ignoring other aspects of the tax and transfer systems, sketch the income-leisure budget constraint associated with this provision. (Dont worry about the specific slope and intercept of the constraint; just sketch the general shape.)2. Discuss:“Workfare is an efficient way to transfer income if the quantity of leisure consumed by the recipient appears in the utility function of the donor.”Hint: Consider the theory of externalities.3. What are Pigovian taxes? Why do economists prefer them over regulations as a way to protect the environment from pollution?4. Greater consumption of alcohol leads to more motor vehicle accidents and, thus, imposes costs on people who do not drink and drive.a. Illustrate the market for alcohol, labeling the demand curve, the social-value