Publication Date

Fall 1980

Document Type

Article

Abstract

On October 22, 1979, Representative Al Ullman, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, introduced H.R. 5665, the Tax Restructuring Act of 1979. Representative Ullman proclaimed the bill, which contains a ten percent value-added tax, as the "largest adjustment in U.S. taxation since 1913." In his statement accompanying the introduction of H.R. 5665, Chairman Ullman states that the overall purpose for the imposition of a value-added tax coupled with reductions in social security and income taxes, is to correct major flaws in the United States economy-namely double digit inflation, declining productivity, inadequate capital formation, and lag­ging competition with foreign manufacturers. To correct these ills, Representative Ullman argues that income must shift from consumption to savings and investment, without a concomitant loss of revenue. He argues that the value-added tax contained in his bill is a broad based consumption tax which rewards savings and investments, while at the same time discourages overconsumption.

Shortly after the introduction of H.R. 5665, the Journal of Corporation Law decided to conduct this symposium on the value-added tax. Considering the dearth of material on the subject, their choice for this reason alone is in­deed commendable. Recognizing that the legislative process involved in the enactment (if ever) of a value-added tax would be long and arduous, especial­ly in an election year, the editors of the Journal wisely chose not to limit this symposium to the specifics of the Ullman proposals. In addition to ex­amining Representative Ullman's bill, the editors have included articles that broadly address general aspects of value-added taxes. The organization of this issue proceeds from the general to the specific. Although there is the inevitable overlap among the various articles, this frequently occurs when one author recasts material in another light.

Publication Title

Journal of Corporation Law

Volume

6

Issue

1

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