The Case for Taxing Frequent Flier Miles  Why aren't all
frequent flier miles earned a form of taxable in-kind income?
By and SHARE  Robert Hahn is director of economics at Oxford's
Smith School, chief economist at the Legatum Institute, and a
senior fellow at the Georgetown Center for Business and Public
Policy. Peter Passell is a senior fellow at the Milken Institute
in Santa Monica and the editor of its quarterly economic policy
journal, The Milken Institute Review. They cofounded, a web
portal on economic regulation.  Road warriors arise! You have
nothing to lose but the tax deductibility of your frequent flier
miles.  Or something like that … When the airlines started
doling out benefits linked to miles flown, in the late 1970s,
the Internal Revenue Service took its cue from public opinion
and chose not to define them as taxable, in-kind income. But as
reports, the issue isn't quite dead. Nor, frankly, should it be.
(No hate mail please; we already hate ourselves for being
honest.)  Miles given as prize