The authors observe that consumption taxation is superior to income taxation because it does not penalize saving and investment and propose that the U.S. income tax system be completely replaced by a progressive consumption tax. They argue that the X tax, developed by the late David Bradford, offers the best form of progressive consumption taxation for the United States and outline concrete proposals for the X tax's treatment of numerous specific economic issues.

Although proposals for "flat" taxes have received a good deal of attention, a majority of Americans say that, for reasons of fairness, they favor a progressive tax. The USA Tax: A Progressive Consumption Tax presents an alternative to both the present tax system and a flat tax. The USA (unlimited savings allowance) tax is a progressive consumption tax that differs fundamentally from our current tax structure in that it taxes consumption rather than income. In April 1995, the USA tax bill was introduced into the United States Senate. Whatever the fate of the bill, this book is an important contribution to the literature on the theory and design of a progressive consumption tax. The USA tax has two components - the household tax, which replaces the current household income tax, and the business tax, which replaces the corporate income tax. A fundamental purpose of the USA tax is to raise the level of national saving and investment. It accomplishes this by making all household saving and business investment in capital goods tax-deductible. Seidman devotes most of his book to the impact on saving, the issue of fairness, practical design options, simplification, and a variety of questions and criticisms. The book, written in straightforward language, will help guide the non-economist through the coming debates on the USA tax.

The Death of the Income Tax explains how the current income tax is needlessly complex. Daniel Goldberg proposes that the solution to the problems of the current income tax is completely replacing it with a progressive consumption tax collected electronically at the point of sale.

With a timely new foreword by Robert Frank, this groundbreaking book explores the very meaning of happiness and prosperity in America today. Although middle-income families don't earn much more than they did several decades ago, they are buying bigger cars, houses, and appliances. To pay for them, they spend more than they earn and carry record levels of debt. Robert Frank explains how increased concentrations of income and wealth at the top of the economic pyramid have set off "expenditure cascades" that raise the cost of achieving many basic goals for the middle class. Writing in lively prose for a general audience, Frank employs up-to-date economic data and examples drawn from everyday life to shed light on reigning models of consumer behavior. He also suggests reforms that could mitigate the costs of inequality. Falling Behind compels us to rethink how and why we live our economic lives the way we do.

The Death of the Income Tax explains how the current income tax is needlessly complex, contains perverse incentives against saving and investment, fails to use modern technology to ease compliance and collection burdens, and is subject to micromanaging and mismanaging by Congress. Daniel Goldberg proposes that the solution to the problems of the current income tax is completely replacing it with a progressive consumption tax collected electronically at the point of sale.

Making the Modern American Fiscal State chronicles the rise of the US system of direct and progressive taxation.