The Conception of Taxation: The Romantic versus the Realistic Point of View

The Conception of Taxation: The Romantic Versus the Realistic Point of View, in INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES OF THE MARKET ORDER 131 (Donald J. Boudreaux, Christopher J. Coyne & Bobbi Herzberg, eds. 2019).

25 Pages Posted: 20 Jun 2023

See all articles by Charles Delmotte

Charles Delmotte

Michigan State University College of Law; NYU School of Law

Date Written: January 9, 2019

Abstract

This paper does not flesh out any single idea advanced by mainstream tax theory. Rather, it argues for a Copernican turn in our fiscal thinking. Whether optimal, Pigouvian, or paternalist, academic fiscal thinking is strongly idealized, and specific proposals are advanced on the assumption that (1) taxation is outside the very process it aims to regulate; (2) the people who populate this fiscal process are benignly motivated, and (3) knowledge of what is fair and how to maximize welfare lies within reach of the fiscal authorities. This article, in contrast, expounds that politics—and thus taxation—will be shaped and executed by people who are self-interested and face severe epistemological constraints to enhance the aggregated social welfare. Whereas, here, we employed this realization to debunk the general idea of discriminatory tax rates. Future researchers will need to scrutinize specific proposals as brought forward by conventional tax theory. Once the general assumptions that ground fiscal thinking have been unmasked as idealized, the prospective research task is indeed to confront the masses of contemporary tax proposals with realistic worries and limitations regarding the fiscal process in an in-depth analysis.

Keywords: Philosophy of Taxation; Theory of Optimal Taxation

Suggested Citation

Delmotte, Charles, The Conception of Taxation: The Romantic versus the Realistic Point of View (January 9, 2019). The Conception of Taxation: The Romantic Versus the Realistic Point of View, in INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES OF THE MARKET ORDER 131 (Donald J. Boudreaux, Christopher J. Coyne & Bobbi Herzberg, eds. 2019). , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4473925

Charles Delmotte (Contact Author)

Michigan State University College of Law ( email )

East Lansing
United States

NYU School of Law ( email )

Bobst Library, E-resource Acquisitions
20 Cooper Square 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10003-711
United States

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