Three Decades of Tax Analysis, 1992-2022

This article briskly reviews how tax analysis has evolved over the past three decades and how these changes have been reflected in the National Tax Journal. The focus is on four topics: the elasticity of taxable income, kinks and notches, the credibility revolution, and the proliferation of tax administrative data. The article concludes by addressing the backlash to some of these developments and speculates about future developments, highlighting the uncertain success of ambitious cross-national initiatives in tax enforcement and the role of fast-developing technology and its interaction with citizens' valuation of privacy.