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Larry Summers on progressive tax reform

A general view of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building, with the partial quote "taxes are what we pay," in Washington May 27, 2015. Tax return information for about 100,000 U.S. taxpayers was illegally accessed by cyber criminals over the past four months, U.S. IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said on Tuesday, the latest in a series of data thefts that have alarmed American consumers. The entire quote chiseled on the building, from Oliver Wendell Holmes, reads, "Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society''. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

On this episode: the Iowa caucuses, tax reform, and meet a scholar who studies global poverty reduction.

First, a Brookings expert answers a student’s question about why the Iowa caucuses are so important. This is part of the Policy 2020 Initiative at Brookings. If you have a question for an expert, send a audio file to [email protected]

Second, Hamilton Project Director Jay Shambaugh interviews former treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, now a professor at Harvard University, about reforming the tax code to raise more revenue in a progressive manner.

And finally, meet Matt Collin, one of the new class of David M. Rubenstein Fellows at Brookings. Learn how he came to be a scholar, what he’s focused on now, and his book recommendation.

Related Content:

Tackling the Tax Code: Efficient and Equitable Ways to Raise Revenue

Tackling the tax code event

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