This seminar will examine many of the most important tax questions confronting policymakers. The likely topics will include, among others, whether income is the right tax base; the future of the corporate income tax and taxes on capital more broadly; whether tax should be the exclusive legal tool for redistributing income; and how the tax system should treat marriage. Seminar readings will focus on legal and empirical tax scholarship, including behavioral economics. Students will write a research paper on a topic of their choice (with the instructor’s approval).