Tax by Design ─ The Mirrlees Review

The Mirrlees Review was set up to identify what makes a good tax system for an open and developed economy in the 21st century, and to suggest how the UK tax system could be reformed to move in that direction. This volume sets out the conclusions of the Review's editorial team. A separate volume, Dimensions of Tax Design, brings together 13 specially commissioned studies by leading experts of different dimensions of tax design, plus associated commentaries

`Whatever view you take of tax reform, you will need to read this volume in order to participate in the debate.' Mervyn King, Governor, Bank of England

`Theory and practice rarely are brought together effectively. This volume is the best public economics has to offer. It should be read by anyone who cares about the future of taxation---that is anyone who cares about the future of government.' Lawrence Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor of Harvard University

`a fundamental review of British taxes by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the first such exercise for more than 30 years. The results are a bracing blast of fresh air, which deserves to scour away some of the tax junk that has accreted over the decades.' Tim Harford, FinancialTimes

`a worthy successor to the 1978 Meade Review of taxation ... The Review is a terrific achievement ... the most thorough and clear-sighted assessment of the UK tax system we have seen for decades.' Diane Coyle, The Enlightened Economist

`The report was compiled by some of the world's finest economic brains ...' Peter Wilby, New Statesman

The Institute for Fiscal Studies is a research institute which exists to provide top quality economic analysis independent of government, political party or any other vested interest. IFS exerts substantial influence through publications, the media, close contacts with civil servants and regular meetings with Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet members. The IFS promotes effective economic and social policies by understanding better their impact on individuals, families, businesses and the government's finances. Their findings are based on rigorous analysis, detailed empirical evidence and in-depth institutional knowledge. James Mirrlees is Professor Emeritus of Political Economy at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Trinty College. He was previously Edgeworth Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford (1968-95). In 1996 he won the Nobel Prize for Economics for fundamental contributions to the economic theory of incentives under asymmetric information. He is currently Distinguished Professor-at-Large in the Chinese University of Hong King
and Distinguished Professor at the University of Macau.