Tax Reform: A Reference Handbook

Jurinski’s (attorney and law, Univ. of Portland; Religion in the Schools) update of his 2000 edition (LJ 2/1/2001) discusses history and background and federal, state, and local issues; he also offers a chronology with long, narrative entries describing events from 1607 to 2011; biographies; data and documents; and listings of relevant organizations and resources. Omitted in this edition is the quotations chapter that appeared in the earlier work, which detailed such sayings as the one regarding death and taxes. The “Data and Documents” chapter is now one-third its previous size. The 21 biographies include profiles of Adam Smith, Alexander Hamilton, and Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush; while there is no biographical entry for President Obama, his administration’s tax reforms are detailed. The volume is informative and resolutely non-partisan. For instance, the Tea Party is defined but Grover Norquist and his “No Tax Increase” pledge is not.