A calculator

Why Are Tax Forms So Complicated?

When it comes to the U.S. tax system, benefits are often indirect, which makes them more politically palatable to many.
modern inequality

What Would Adam Smith Think of Modern Inequality?

The "father of modern economics" saw a role for a well-run government that used taxes and regulations to keep the market operating smoothly.
Illustration: an eleventh century Byzantine depiction of King Solomon

Source: https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e4-380c-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

How People Paid Their Taxes in Biblical Times

Think doing your taxes is annoying? Imagine trying it without a computer, a calculator… or even the Arabic numeral system.
plastic grocery bag

How Should We Deal With Plastic Bags?

A proposed 5-cent plastic bag fee was just blocked in New York City. What can be done to effectively reduce plastic bag use?
Trump Tower

Do Corporate Leaders Need to Pay Taxes?

Donald Trump’s claim that he had a fiduciary duty to minimize his taxes has sparked a conversation about business ethics. Are CEOs obligated to avoid taxes?
Mather School, Dorchester Massachusetts

Where American Public Schools Came From

How American public schools came to be taxpayer-funded.
Tax frustrations

A Brief History of the Income Tax

The significance of the date April 15 is not lost on anyone in the modern United States. But ...
A conversation between Süddeutsche Zeitung and the anonymous source.

A Short Primer on the Panama Papers

The so-called “Panama Papers” files released last weekend detail wide-spread tax-evasion among the world’s elites. From Russia to Iceland, ...
Slum

America: A Welfare Nation

We think of welfare as social security for the economically vulnerable. Maybe it's time we rightfully enlarge what we mean by the term.
Stamp-shaped skull and crossbones

Stamping Out the Stamp Act

The history of the Stamp Act as it celebrates its 250th anniversary.