Federal Taxation in America
A History

This book provides an analysis of the dramatic shifts in American taxation through crises from the American Revolution through to the 'Great Recession'.

W. Elliot Brownlee (Author)

9781107099760, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 19 July 2016

336 pages, 2 b/w illus. 4 tables
23.5 x 15.8 x 2.5 cm, 0.61 kg

'With rigor and balance, Brownlee (California-Santa Barbara) considers federal taxation from the British colonial system into the current fiscal paralysis and the early part of the 2016 presidential campaign. … For historians, economists, lawyers, and others, there is no better source for understanding the development of the federal tax system. … Summing Up: Essential.' J. L. Mikesell, Choice

This authoritative and readable survey is a comprehensive historical overview of federal taxation and fiscal policy in the United States, extending from the era of the American Revolution to the present day. Brownlee relates the principal stages of federal taxation to the crises that led to their adoption, including but not limited to: the formation of the republic, the Civil War, World War I and II, and the challenges to government that took hold during the 1980s. In this third edition, Brownlee adds four new chapters covering the colonial era, the American Revolution, the Civil War, the 1920s, and the post-1945 era including the tax policies of the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. It features expanded discussion of government expenditures, deficits and debt, public resources, counter-cyclical fiscal policy, and state and local taxation. Its interdisciplinary interpretation makes it perfect for scholars, graduate students and advanced undergraduate students.

1. Anglo-American regimes, 1607–1788
2. Creating a modern fiscal state, 1788–1861
3. The Civil War regime, 1861–1916
4. The World War I regime, 1916–35
5. Roosevelt's regimes, 1935–45
6. The era of easy finance, 1945–80
7. 'Reagan Revolution', 1980–86
8. Fiscal consolidation and revival of the old tax regime, 1986–2000
9. Victory for a retro-liberal regime, 2000–9
10. Fiscal paralysis, 2009–15.

Subject Areas: Economic history [KCZ], Economics [KC], Central government [JPQ], Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000 [HBLW3], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], History of the Americas [HBJK], Regional & national history [HBJ], History [HB], Humanities [H]