John O. Fox

Visiting Professor of Complex Organizations

Specialization
United States tax policy; poverty in the United States

An expert on United States tax policy, John O. Fox is the author of If Americans Really Understood the Income Tax (Westview Press, 2001). Fox developed the arguments for this book over many years in conjunction with his tax policy seminar at Mount Holyoke. His book Ten Tax Questions the Candidates Don't Want You to Ask (2004) challenged candidates to address major inequities in the tax laws.

Fox's editorials on tax issues have appeared in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and numerous other newspapers around the country. He also has been a frequent guest commentator on radio and television programs.

Currently, Fox teaches Winners and Losers: Taxation, Social Justice, and Economic Choices. In recent years he has also taught Poverty in the United States.

Fox practiced law in Washington, D.C., from 1964 to 2000, specializing in tax, business, and estate planning matters.

News Links:

"Taxes Are Dues for Membership in Society," Republican, October 29, 2006

"Tax Breaks Hurt Low-Income Students," Hartford Courant, May 3, 2006

"A Tax Policy to Help Homeowners," Daily Hampshire Gazette, December 3-4, 2005

"The Tax Break that Corporate Execs Don't Need," Washington Post, July 25, 2004

"For Singles, April Really is the Cruelest Month," Washington Post, April 11, 2004

"Don't Know Jack About Taxes," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, April 9, 2004

"The Wrong Prescription: We Should Help Needy Seniors First -- But We Can't Even Afford That," Washington Post, October 12, 2003

"You Call This Relief? I Don't," Washington Post, May 18, 2003

"Workers Who Spend More Are More Deserving of Relief," Boston Sunday Globe, February 24, 2003

"Reality Check Must Conclude in a Demand for Higher Taxes," Boston Herald, October 21, 2002

“Faculty Reactions to President Bush's State of the Union Address,” Office of Communications

“Poverty Course Sorts Myth from Reality,” Vista, summer 2001

“Fox Advocates Tax Code Reform, Not Flat Tax,” College Street Journal, February 16, 1995