Fairness and Taxation in a Globalized World

18 Pages Posted: 26 Feb 2015

See all articles by Sigrid Hemels

Sigrid Hemels

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Erasmus School of Law; Lund University School of Economics and Management

Date Written: February 26, 2015

Abstract

In the public debate on taxation, fairness has become a prominent issue over the past few years. In the 1950s legal philosophers have developed a definition of the principle of fairness which focuses on the relationships between tax payers and the expectations they have of each other. It is this concept of fairness which seems to be dominant in the current public debate on fairness: it is not so much the tax system itself which is debated, but the use some tax payers make of the tax system resulting in other tax payers having to pay more. This leads to the question how the government can protect compliant tax payers and thus ensure more fairness. The answer seems to be combating free riders and free riding. However, in a globalized world this asks for action on a global scale. I will relate this to the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project of the OECD.

Keywords: fairness, taxation, free riders, BEPS

JEL Classification: D63, F02, H26, H87,K34

Suggested Citation

Hemels, Sigrid, Fairness and Taxation in a Globalized World (February 26, 2015). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2570750 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2570750

Sigrid Hemels (Contact Author)

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Erasmus School of Law ( email )

3000 DR Rotterdam
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://www.eur.nl/people/sigrid-hemels

Lund University School of Economics and Management ( email )

Lund

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