Steven J. Willis, University of Florida College of Law, has uploaded his article "Masks, Magic, & Games: The Use of Tax Law as a Policy Tool," 4 American Journal of Tax Policy 41 (1985) to SSRN. Here is the abstract.
Congress often uses the Internal Revenue Code to accomplish policy goals other than mere revenue raising. Such uses result in complicated statutes, which tax lawyers seek to manipulate. Often, we frustrate the apparent statutory goals with much paperwork. Clients love this, but they learn to dis-respect the system as a result. This breeds contempt and further gaming of the tax system, which breeds complicated rules designed to frustrate the games, which breeds more games, and so forth.
Use of the tax system to accomplish policy goals is counter-productive. We need to stop doing it.
Professor Willis discusses at length Weyrauch's theory of "the mask of law" and Hoeflich's game theory of taxation. Also interesting for the civilian-trained attorney is his consideration of what civil law jurisdictions may have to contribute to tax law theory.
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