The Income Tax Collapse Buy, Borrow, Dieand Beyond

For more than a century, the United States has relied on the income tax to fund government and shape distributional policy. Designed to tax both labor and capital, the system has drifted from that ambition. The Income Tax Collapse offers a clear, accessible account of how this shift occurred.
At the center of the book is the set of techniques known as "buy, borrow, die", longstanding features of tax law that allow wealthy households to accumulate and spend capital income while reporting little or none of it. These practices now shape outcomes for entrepreneurs, business owners, workers, mixed work-wealth households, and the wealthiest citizens.
Looking ahead, the book identifies the structural pressures driving the system and presents realistic reform options, from adjustments to realization rules to broader shifts such as mark-to-market, wealth taxation, or progressive spending taxes.

Edward McCaffery is the Robert C. Packard Trustee Chair in Law and Professor of Law, Economics, and Political Science at the University of Southern California Law School (USC). Ed coined the phrase "Buy, Borrow, Die" in the 1990s to help his students understand deep structural features of income tax law. He has written many books, articles, and popular commentaries, as on CNN. He is also the cofounder, with his daughter Sabrina, of the People's Tax Page (www.peoplestaxpage.org) which explains tax policy in cartoons and other media for ordinary people.

David Gamage is the Law School Foundation Distinguished Professor of Tax Law & Policy at the University of Missouri School of Law. He is ranked among the top ten most-cited US tax law scholars [Brian Leiter & Sisk/Catlin/Anderson/Gunderson Rankings] and among the top twenty-five all-time law authors on the Social Science Research Network [SSRN Top 3,000 Law Authors; as of October 31, 2024] and as the third all-time tax law professor [Paul Caron/TaxProf Blog SSRN Tax Professor Rankings]. David has written extensively on tax policy and public finance, and has worked with lawmakers on reform proposals to address the problems of "Buy, Borrow, Die". He has testified before the US Congress and state legislatures, and his research on wealth and income tax reforms has been cited by the US Supreme Court.