The Ethics of Tax Policy

Abstract

Tax policy must address three fundamental questions: what is taxed, who is taxed, and how tax burdens are allocated among taxpayers. This chapter examines the ethical dimensions of these questions, including the merits of income taxation, consumption taxation and Pigouvian taxes, the tax treatment of families and of corporations, the justification of progressive taxation, and tax competition. It considers theories of tax fairness grounded in taxpayers’ ability to pay and in the benefits taxpayers receive from government as well as the perspectives of utilitarians, egalitarians, and public choice theorists.

Keywords: Taxation, Tax, Public Finance, Fairness, Tax Policy