Progressive Consumption Taxation: Can It Be Done? Should It Be Done? October 24, 2008

Host: American Enterprise Institute. In 2005, the President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform put forward a tax plan that would replace most, but not all, of the federal income tax with a progressive consumption tax. Known as the Bradford X-tax, this type of tax was developed by the late Princeton University economist and AEI scholar David F. Bradford. Members of the advisory panel argued that moving from an income tax to a consumption tax would promote saving and long-run economic growth. They also argued that moving to the X-tax would preserve tax progressivity—that is, avoid a shift of the tax burden onto those least able to pay. Panelists at this conference, cosponsored by the Tax Foundation, will explore whether progressive consumption taxation can and should be done. The advisory panel’s chief economist, Rosanne Altshuler, a professor at Rutgers University, will explain and discuss the “Growth and Investment Tax Plan” as well as other options considered by the panel. University of Virginia Law School professor George Yin will offer an independent perspective on the panel’s work. Leonard E. Burman of the Brookings-Urban Tax Policy Center, Robert Carroll of the Tax Foundation, and William Gentry of Williams College will discuss and evaluate possible ways to combine progressivity with consumption taxation. Former House Ways and Means Committee chairman Bill Thomas will deliver a keynote address on the implications and political prospects of progressive consumption tax proposals.

Official Website: http://www.aei.org/events/type.upcoming,eventID.1792,filter.all/event_detail.asp