The American tax system stands at a crossroads. In addition to longstanding arguments over the tax code and budget deficits, there are new concerns raised by Washington's expensive stimulus plan, by proposals to address global warming, and by the scheduled expiration of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts at the end of 2010. In Tax Policy Lessons from the 2000s (AEI Press, February 2009), fourteen well-known economists explore the role taxes should play in setting environmental policy, the effect of tax rate increases on decisions to work and on the determination of taxable income, the economic impact of tax cuts that add to the deficit, and the effect of the tax system on businesses' financial and investment decisions.

At this event, AEI's Alan D. Viard, editor and coauthor of Tax Policy Lessons from the 2000s, will provide an overview of the book and its implications for current policy issues. Independent perspectives will be offered by Rosanne Altshuler, codirector of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, and Daniel Shaviro, the Wayne Perry Professor of Taxation at the New York University School of Law. AEI's Kevin A. Hassett will moderate.