Saturday, January 20

8:30AM - 11:00AM

VAT and Other Consumption Taxes

Chair:  Victoria Perry, International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC

8:30am                  Opening Remarks by the Chair.

8:45am                  VAT and the US Foreign Tax Credit.    This panel will
     discuss whether VATs can ever be creditable for US
     tax purposes. The line between income and
     consumption taxes is unclear, and there have been
     proposals in various countries suggesting that
     certain types of VATs are (or can be made to be)
     creditable.  The panel will discuss these proposals
     and their practical and policy implications. 
     Moderator:  Professor Reuven Avi-Yonah,
     University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, MI.
     Panelists:  Martin B. Tittle, Law Office of Martin B.
     Tittle,  Washington, DC; Philip R. West, Steptoe &
     Johnson, Washington, DC.

10:00am                Progressive Consumption Taxes.  Could a progressive
     consumption tax similar to the Flat Tax or the X-tax be
     implemented using a credit-invoice system similar to
     those employed in almost all VATs worldwide? What 
     advantages or disadvantages would such a system
     have relative to the subtraction-method upon which
     most progressive consumption tax proposals are
     based? The discussion will focus on the "credit-
     method X-tax," and what this alternative highlights
     about the relative attractions of the credit-method
     versus the subtraction-method for consumption taxes
     generally. Moderator: Victoria Perry, International
     Monetary Fund, Washington, DC. Panelists: Itai 
     Grinberg, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP,
     Washington, DC; Yoram Keinan, Ernst & Young LLP,
     Washington, DC.