@techreport{NBERw17268, title = "Tax Expenditures, the Size and
Efficiency of Government, and Implications for Budget Reform",
author = "Leonard E. Burman and Marvin Phaup", institution =
"National Bureau of Economic Research", type = "Working Paper",
series = "Working Paper Series", number = "17268", year =
"2011", month = "August", URL =
"http://www.nber.org/papers/w17268", abstract = {One possible
explanation for the difficulty in controlling the budget is that
a major component of spending —tax expenditures—receives
privileged status. It is treated as tax cuts rather than
spending. This paper explores the implications of that
classification and illustrates how it can lead to higher taxes,
larger government, and an inefficient mix of spending (too many
tax expenditures). The paper then analyzes alternative budgeting
approaches that would explicitly incorporate and measure tax
expenditures. It concludes by analyzing ways to control tax
expenditures (and other spending) and the special challenges
presented b