No. 21 Postwar Inflation by Harold M. Levinson (sale price 40 cents): January 1960. No. 22 An Evaluation of Anti-Trust Policy: Its Relation to Economic Growth, Full Employment, and Prices by Theodore J. Kreps (sale price 20 cents): January 1960. No. 23 The Structure of Unemployment in Areas of Substantial Labor Surplus by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (sale price 15 cents): January 1960. New Views on Automation (papers submitted to the Subcommittee on Automation and Energy Resources), committee print (sale price $1.75): October 1960. *Economic Policies for Agriculture in the 1960s, Implications of Four Selected Alternatives (materials prepared for the Joint Economic Committee), committee print (sale price 25 cents): November 1960. 1960 Descriptive Supplement to Economic Indicators (Historical and Descriptive Background) (Prepared for the Joint Economic Committee by the Committee Staff and the Office of Statistical Standards, Bureau of the Budget), committee print (sale price 60 cents): December 1960. Energy Resources and Government (materials submitted to the Subcommittee on Automation and Energy Resources by Federal and State Regulatory and Developmental Agencies), committee print (sale price $2.00): December 1960. Subsidy and Subsidy-like Programs of the U.S. Government (materials prepared for the Joint Economic Committee), committee print (sale price 25 cents): December 1960. Economic Programs for Labor Surplus Areas in Selected Countries of Western Europe (materials prepared for the Joint Economic Committee), committee print (sale price 25 cents): December 1960. Index to Hearings on Employment, Growth, and Price Levels (with Tables of Contents of Study Papers and Reports) (prepared for the Joint Economic Committee), committee print (sale price 30 cents): December 1960. A Study of the Dealer Market for Federal Government Securities (materials prepared for the Joint Economic Committee), committee print (sale price 40 cents): January 1961. Hearings, Current Economic Situation and Short-Run Outlook, December 7 and 8, 1960 (sale price 70 cents): January 1961. Hearings, Government Price Statistics, Subcommittee on Economic Statistics (January 24, 1961) (sale price, $1.50): March 1961. ECONOMIC INDICATORS Economic Indicators (a monthly publication of the Congress under Public Law 120, 81st Cong., 1st sess.) (sale price 20 cents a copy, $2.00 a year): Issued monthly. о JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE WRIGHT PATMAN, Representative, Texas, Chairman HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES RICHARD BOLLING, Missouri SENATE JOHN SPARKMAN, Alabama WM. SUMMERS, JOHNSON Executive Director LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL Hon. WRIGHT PATMAN, Chairman, Joint Economic Committee, Congress of the United States, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. PATMAN: Transmitted herewith is a staff report, "The Federal Revenue System: Facts and Problems." This report is the second revision of the materials originally prepared at the request of the Subcommittee on Tax Policy for its use in its December 1955 hearings on Federal tax policy for economic growth and stability. The occasions for this revision are changes in the Internal Revenue Code and the availability of additional data bearing on the operation of the Federal revenue system. The report consists of information and statistics about most of the major elements of the Federal revenue system. Each section of the report presents a brief statement of the present statutory provisions, supplemented in some cases by a short account of the legislative history of the principal provisions and in some cases by a comparison with the corresponding provision in other countries. In addition, each section contains a statement of major current issues arising in these areas of the tax law and of the principal arguments advanced with respect to these issues. The changes in these issues and arguments which have resulted from legislation and economic developments since 1955 and since the first revision in 1959 provide a further occasion for this revision. A final section of the report presents the most recent statistics bearing on the operation of the Federal revenue system. Every effort has been made to maintain complete objectivity in preparing this report, No attempt has been made to evaluate the various arguments offered on any side of the issues presented. The purpose has been to provide as accurate a statement as possible of these issues and arguments, leaving appraisal of their validity to the reader. In preparing the statistical materials in this report, I have had capable and extensive assistance from Mr. Hamilton D. Gewehr of the committee staff and from Miss Katherine Dolfis. The cooperation and assistance of the Tax Analysis Staff of the Treasury Department and of the Statistical Division of the Internal Revenue Service, as on the prior occasions, were invaluable. Other Government agencies were also helpful in providing statistical materials. This report also benefits from materials, criticism, and suggestions provided in the preparation of the 1955 and 1959 reports. This report, of course, does not necessarily reflect the views of those who have assisted me. NORMAN B. TURE, Economist, Joint Economic Committee. |