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Should there be tax reform? Here are the opinions of chief executive officers from a significant sampling of the Fortune 500. This survey sought their response to possible changes in the income tax, the capital gains tax, double taxation of corporation earnings, the investment tax credit, and various taxes paid by multinational businesses. While the overall findings of the survey are not startling, the individual comments do offer an insight into the thinking of the 53 executives who were interviewed. The Fortune 500 Survey was commissioned by Touche Ross and conducted by Research and Forecasts, Inc. with the assistance of Professor Gerald P. Grady of the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. Are there realistic alternatives to the income tax, such as a tax on sales, value added, net assets, or cash flow? "This dependence on the income tax will continue, since, in my opinion, it is the fairest way provided that is straightforward, understandable, and gives the taxpayer an even break." "Whatever choices and trade-offs are made by Carter and Congress, the new tax system must not destroy incentives to make capital investments, to assume business risks, and to be productive and successful." "Unfortunately, given the American political system, we must rely on the income tax. If it were politically possible, the value-added tax (VAT) would be great, because the cost would automatically go through to the consumer." "VAT is a good alternative—it's the fairest type of tax—but not politically realistic in the U.S. We are stuck with the income tax." "I personally favor a tax on consumption. A true consumption tax would be more equitable than a sales tax. However, a national sales tax would get at the problem and would make some sense." "The VAT or the sales tax as a substitute for the income tax would be an impractical idea,since both are regressive and would tend to hit the lower income wage earner the hardest." "The taxation of cash flows would involve taxing depreciation, thereby impeding modernization of our capital equipment A system which taxed assets would probably serve as a disincentive to saving." RESULTS: 83 percent favor income tax over a tax on consumption; 49 percent choose income tax because of political realism; 66 percent recommend revising income tax.
Object Description
Title |
U.S. chief executives assess tax reform |
Author |
Grady, Gerald P. |
Subject |
Taxation -- Law and legislation -- United States |
Citation |
Tempo, Vol. 24, no. 1 (1978), p. 42-45 |
Date-Issued | 1978 |
Source | Originally published by: Touche Ross, & Co. |
Rights | Copyright and permission to republish held by: Deloitte |
Type | Text |
Format | PDF page image with corrected OCR scanned at 400 dpi |
Collection | Deloitte Digital Collection |
Digital Publisher | University of Mississippi Library. Accounting Collection |
Date-Digitally Created | 2010 |
Language | eng |
Identifier | Tempo_1978_Spring-p42-45 |