Abstract
Today’s views and analyses about taxation are dominated by the social-welfare approach based on various categories of utilitarianism, most notably those developed by the optimal-tax literature. By contrast, this paper focuses on the ethical foundations of taxation and analyses a tradition that harks back to the 17th century. In particular, we emphasise the notion of legitimate taxation in the history of economic thought from the libertarian, the classical-liberal and socialist perspectives. By means of this very notion, we define the essence of a desirable tax structure and draw conclusions in regard to today’s tax policies.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- Legitimate Tax Structures: Lessons from the Past
- The Poverty of Radical Ecological Economics: A Critique of Clive Spash from the Viewpoint of the Austrian School
- The Poverty of Radical Ecological Economics: A Supportive Comment
- Clarifying the Analysis of Deadweight Loss from Taxation
- The School of Salamanca on Value of Money: A Reassessment
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- Legitimate Tax Structures: Lessons from the Past
- The Poverty of Radical Ecological Economics: A Critique of Clive Spash from the Viewpoint of the Austrian School
- The Poverty of Radical Ecological Economics: A Supportive Comment
- Clarifying the Analysis of Deadweight Loss from Taxation
- The School of Salamanca on Value of Money: A Reassessment