Top heavy
Subtitle: the increasing inequality of wealth in America and what can be done about it
By: Edward N. Wolff
Contributors: Twentieth Century Fund
Publisher: The New Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: New York, N.Y
Language: eng
Number of pages: 111
ISBN-13: 9781565843479
Copyright date: 1995
Subjects: Répartition; Income distribution; Impôt sur le capital; Richesse; Répartition (économie politique); Aspect moral; Revenu; Wealth tax; Justice sociale; Impôt sur le revenu
Description: Top Heavy provides the clearest picture available of the growing gap between rich and poor in America, and a compelling proposal to help correct it. In the second part of the book, Wolff examines the varying wealth taxes in Europe and proposes a progressive alternative to the "flat tax" for the United States - a Swiss-style, direct wealth tax that would raise about $40 billion per year. Top Heavy is a compelling argument for reaffirming the principle that taxation should be based on ability to pay and a persuasive plan for correcting some of the vast and growing inequities in American society.
Notes: "An expanded edition of a Twentieth Century Fund report."

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Foreword / Richard C. Leone; title: 1. Introduction; title: 2. Why Wealth?; title: 3. Household Wealth Inequality in the United States: Present Level and Historical Trends; title: 4. The Changing Structure of Household Wealth; title: 5. Comparisons with Other Countries; title: 6. Comparisons of Income Inequality; title: 7. Current Systems of Wealth Taxation; title: 8. Simulations of Direct Wealth Taxation in the United States; title: 9. Concluding Remarks; title: 10. Postscript.