A groundbreaking reference, this book provides a comprehensive review of tax policy from political, legal, constitutional, administrative, and economic perspectives. A collection of writings from over 45 prominent tax experts, it charts the influence of taxation on economic activity and economic behavior. Featuring over 2400 references, tables, equations, and drawings, the book describes how taxes affect individual and business behavior, shows how taxes operate as work and investment incentives, explains how tax structures impact different income groups, weighs the balanced use of sales, property, and personal income taxes, traces the influence of recent tax changes, and more.

Revenue and expenditure forecasting plays an important role in public budgeting and financial management, particularly during times of financial constraint, when citizens impose greater accountability upon government to use taxpayer dollars more efficiently. Despite its significance, revenue and expenditure forecasting is often overlooked in the budget process, and there is an imbalance between practice and research in this area. Based on the collaboration of budget scholars and practitioners, Government Budget Forecasting fulfills two purposes: Enhances the understanding of revenue and expenditure estimation both theoretically and practically Stimulates dialogue and debate among practitioners and academicians to identify good forecast practices as well as areas for improvement Divided into four parts, this comprehensive reference first examines forecast practices at the federal, state, and local levels, drawing on case studies that include California, Texas, and Louisiana. It then explores consensus systems and risk assessment, considering political factors and the costs of forecast errors. The text concludes with a call to transparency and guidance from a code of ethics, and a look at forecasting practices in emerging countries.