Tax By Design
The Mirrlees Review

Tax by Design identifies what makes a good tax system for an open developed economy in the 21st century and suggests how the UK tax system could be reformed to move in that direction. The recommendations stress the importance of neutrality and transparency in tax design. It draws on the expert evidence from the commissioned chapters and commentaries in Dimensions of Tax Design. It also acknowledges the growing importance of globalised markets and multinational corporations as well as the challenges created by changing population demographics, the growth of new technologies, and the broadened objectives of policy makers. The Commission's work was directed by: Timothy Besley Richard Blundell Malcolm Gammie James Poterba The Commission's editorial team: Stuart Adam Stephen Bond Robert Chote Paul Johnson Gareth Myles

The Institute for Fiscal Studies is a research institute which exists to provide top quality economic analysis independent of government, political party or any other vested interest. IFS exerts substantial influence through publications, the media, close contacts with civil servants and regular meetings with Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet members. The IFS promotes effective economic and social policies by understanding better their impact on individuals, families, businesses and the government's finances. Their findings are based on rigorous analysis, detailed empirical evidence and in-depth institutional knowledge. James Mirrlees is Professor Emeritus of Political Economy at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Trinty College. He was previously Edgeworth Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford (1968-95). In 1996 he won the Nobel Prize for Economics for fundamental contributions to the economic theory of incentives under asymmetric information. He is currently Distinguished Professor-at-Large in the Chinese University of Hong King and Distinguished Professor at the University of Macau.