An Equity Analysis of Various Minimum Tax Structures for Individual Taxpayers: An Empirical Study.

Abstract The article presents information on the study, An Equity Analysis of Various Minimum Tax Structures for Individual Taxpayers: An Empirical Study, by Kenneth E. Anderson. This dissertation evaluates the minimum tax provisions from the perspective of horizontal and vertical equity. Horizontal equity holds that taxpayers with equal income should pay equal taxes. Vertical equity relates to the degree of progressiveness in the tax system. Tax preferences distort equity in both dimensions. Accordingly, the dissertation has the following research objectives: first is to employ measures of horizontal and vertical equity to quantify and assess the degree to which the Tax Reform Act of 1976 (TRA76), U.S. Revenue Act of 1978 and U.S. Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA) minimum tax provisions increase equity. And second, to examine the sensitivity of the equity measures to structural variations in the basic minimum tax provisions. The study is based on taxpayer data from the 1978 Individual Tax Model tapes prepared by the Internal Revenue Service. The study generally concludes that the TRA76 add-on minimum tax best enhances equity. However, if the U.S. Congress views the minimum tax as a transition to a flat-rate tax system, the TEFRA alternative minimum tax may be preferable.