Tax policy is defined as which taxes the government chooses to levy, in what amounts and on whom.  Elements of this decision are based on both the amount needed to pay for expenditures as well as the effect taxes can have on the economy and economic stimulation.  Equality, one of the canons of taxation, plays a key role - who should pay and how much?  Tax administration is the implementation of tax policy, including compliance.

The increasing complexity of tax policy in part is due to technological advances, cross-border trade, and the growth of multi-national corporations.  The last major overhaul of the U.S Federal Tax Code was over 30 years ago, the Tax Reform Act of 1984.  It has been called the broadest revision of federal income tax in history and stands as a rare example of bi-partisan support for tax legislation. 

That, however, was prior to the technological advances, cross border trade and surge in multi-national corporations.  Bi-partisan consensus is that these societal changes have made the current U.S tax system uncompetitive, overly complex, and inefficient, straying from the canons of equality, convenience, certainty and economy.  The Tax Reform Act of 1986 was begun in 1982.  The legislative session of 2017 has been likened to those early days of 1982.

With the close of the 2017 legislative session and the presidential signing of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act we can reflect on the bill in its final form. The final bill reflects some compromises and is substantially different than the earlier House and Senate bills. The new law includes many expected changes, some unexpected ones, and some changes that were expected but didn't make the cut.  Much has been written about the impact the bill will have on the economy but right now most of us are just beginning to see the effect of the massive changes. 

Additionally, you should investigate some of the legislation enacted by the Families First Corona Act and the CARES Act to see just what changes were made to TCJA by the legislation passed in 2020 and 2021.  Some of this was retroactive and some "temporary" in nature.  Although this is not a necessary component of this research paper it must be addressed if you choose to write on an area of TCJA that was impacted by this current legislation.

In the accounting profession, especially in tax, the ability to present a complex topic in well thought out form, easily understood, using proper grammar and punctuation, is a professional necessity.  Your answer should reflect these ideals.  

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Tax policy is a critical aspect of government fiscal management encompassing decisions on the types ... View the full answer